15th PA cabinet sworn in

The 15th Palestinian government headed by Rami Hamdallah was sworn in before the President Mahmoud Abbas Thursday evening in Ramallah.
The 24-member cabinet remains mostly the same as its predecessor but includes some changes, notably the appointment of two deputy premiers and a new finance minister.

All but Safaa Nasser Addin, minister of telecommunication and information technology, were sworn in. She was abroad Thursday and will be sworn in later.

The new line-up saw two deputy premiers sworn in — former foreign minister Ziad Abu Amr, and Mohammed Mustafa, head of the Palestinian investment fund, as an economy adviser.

Banker and economist Shukri Bishara took over the finance ministry, and Kamal al-Shirafi, from Gaza, will serve as minister of social affairs.

The following is the list of cabinet members in the new government.

1. Rami Hamdallah, prime minister

2. Ziad Abu Amr, deputy prime minister

3. Muhammad Mustafa, deputy prime minister for economic affairs

4. Riyad al-Maliki, minister of foreign affairs

5. Said Abu Ali, minister of interior

6. Shukri Bishara, minister of finance

7. Ali Muhanna, minister of justice

8. Ali Zeidan Abu Zuhri, minister of education and higher education

9. Kamal Shirafi, minister of social affairs

10. Mahmoud al-Habbash, minister of endowments

11. Rabiha Thiab, minister of women’s affairs

12. Issa Qaraqe, minister of prisoners’ affairs

13. Mahir Ghneim, minister of public works and housing

14. Adnan al-Husseini, minister of Jerusalem affairs

15. Jawad Naji, minister of national economy

16. Rula Maaya, minister of tourism

17. Safaa Nasser Addin, minister of telecommunication and information technology

18. Walid Assaf, minister of agriculture

19. Jawad Awwad, minister of health

20. Saed al-Kuni, minister of local governance

21. Nabil Dmeidi, minister of transportation

22. Muhammad Abu Ramadan, minister of state for planning affairs

23. Fawwaz Aqil, secretary-general of the cabinet (ranked as minister)

24. Ahmad Majdalani, minister of labor