·Lebanese new Prime Minister Sa'ad Al-Hariri announced the formation of new cabinet. ·The new cabinet is formed on basis of 15-10-5 formula, Hizbullah holds two seats. ·It took more than four months to form the national unity cabinet.

    BEIRUT, Nov. 9 2009, (Xinhua) --

Lebanese new Prime Minister Sa'ad Al-Hariri announced the formation of Lebanon's new cabinet on Monday night, bringing an end to the five-month cabinet impasse following the June parliamentary elections.

    "Finally, the national-unity cabinet is formed," Hariri said after the meeting with Lebanese President Michel Suleiman on Monday night to present the cabinet lineup proposal for the second time.

    "We turned a new page that we hope will be one of agreement and cooperation in Lebanon," said Hariri, "this cabinet ensures that we are up to the challenges we are going to face."

    Hariri added that the new cabinet will face the economic problems of the country, launch a major legislative workshop, put a limit to corruption and fully implement the Taif Accord.

    "(We are looking forward to) a cabinet which can restore Lebanon's role in the Arab region," said Hariri.

    In the meantime, Fouad Siniora, the caretaker Prime Minister, announced to resign.

    The new cabinet is formed on the basis of 15-10-5 formula, which means that in the total 30 seats of the cabinet, 15 portfolios go to the Western and Saudi-backed majority, 10 to the opposition and five to President Suleiman.

    The country's Shiite armed group Hezbollah, which is a dominant power in the Iran-and-Syria-backed opposition, holds two seats in the new cabinet, the Agriculture Ministry and State Ministry for Administrative Reform.

    It took more than four months to form the national unity cabinet after Hariri was designated as prime minister in late June. Hariri said he would form a national unity government including both the majority and the opposition. However, his mission had been delayed time and again as the rival blocs kept bargaining on the portfolios in the new cabinet.

    This time-consuming process came to the end last Friday as the leaders of the opposition bloc agreed on Hariri's cabinet lineup proposal.

    Hariri presented a cabinet lineup proposal to Suleiman for the first time in September, while it was rejected by the opposition. Hariri stepped down but was re-designated as PM one week later.

    Sources close to the cabinet formation process said that the final formation of the cabinet came after Saudi King Abdullah's meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus in October, a sign of rapprochement of the two regional powers both having big influence in Lebanon since 2005 when Lebanon's former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri was assassinated.

Editor: Mu Xuequan

Lebanon's President Michel Suleiman names Hariri new PM

Political novice Sa'ad Al-Hariri named Lebanon's PM

Saad Hariri entered politics in 2005 after the assassination of his father Rafiq al-Hariri

CAIRO (Al Arabiya)

November 9, 2009

Sa'ad Al-Hariri followed his slain father's foot steps and was named Lebanon's prime minister Saturday in a presidential statement that propelled the political novice into the world of Lebanese politics, Al-Arabiya reported. The thirty-nine-year-old son and political heir of slain ex-premier Rafiq Al-Hariri received a total of 86 nominations of Lebanon's 128 deputies, 71 of which were from his own majority alliance following the March 14th alliance election win on June 7. Pro-Syrian parliament speaker Nabih Berri and his bloc of 12 MPs in addition to two Armenian MPs also named the Saudi-born Hariri the country's prime minister.

Lebanon's President, Michel Suleiman issued a presidential decree appointing Hariri as prime minister-designate. The two men were meeting at the presidential palace after a majority of parliamentarians nominated Hariri for the post. In a press conference held after the announcement Sa'ad Hariri renewed his commitment to work with all of Lebanon's political parties. "In line with our commitment during the election campaign in favour of a national unity government in which the main parliamentary blocs are represented...we will begin consultations with all parliamentary blocs," Hariri said. "According to the constitution and after the president consulted with the speaker of parliament and parliamentarians, he (Lebanese President Michel Sleiman) summoned Saad Hariri and tasked him with forming a new government," the statement said.

" In line with our commitment during the election campaign in favour of a national unity government in which the main parliamentary blocs are represented...we will begin consultations with all parliamentary blocs " Saad Hariri

Saad Hariri was poised to be designated Lebanon's new prime minister after his Western-backed party, which along with its allies holds the majority in parliament, picked him for the post on Friday. The presidential statement said Hariri was chosen to carry on with the "national and political mission" of his slain father, credited for rebuilding Lebanon after the devastating 1975-1990 civil war. A successful businessman like his father who was killed in a massive bombing in 2005, Saad Hariri's net worth was put at $1.4 billion according to Forbes magazine's list of the world's billionaires. The Hezbollah-led minority coalition reportedly abstained from naming anyone for the top post which is reserved for a Sunni Muslim under Lebanon's complex sectarian political system.