The first Iraqi Government since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime was announced today by the newly appointed Prime Minister, Iyad Allawi.

The Government will run Iraq from the handover date of June 30 until national elections are held in January, 2005, and is partly comprised of members of the now dissolved Governing Council, which was appointed by the US-led coalition.

President: Ghazi al-Yawar. Educated in Saudi Arabia and the United States, he is a prominent Sunni member of the Shammar tribe, one of the largest in the Gulf region and , which includes Shia clans. The presidency is a largely ceremonial post.

Deputy President: Ibrahim Jaafari. The leader of the Shia Muslim Dawa Islamic Party.

Deputy President: Rowsch Shways. The parliament speaker in the Kurdish autonomous region in Irbil. He is a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, one of two rival parties running northern Iraq.

Prime Minister: Iyad Allawi. A US-backed Shia Muslim with connections to the CIA and MI6. His power base, the Iraqi National Accord, is a secular party that comprises former members of the Baath party and military. It counts Sunnis and Shias among its members.

Deputy Prime Minister (for national security): Barham Salih. A leader of one of the main Iraqi Kurdish groups, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan

Foreign Minister: Hoshyar Zebari (unchanged). Since his appointment as interim foreign minister in July, the 51-year-old has traveled around the world seeking support for what he calls a new, united and democratic Iraq. He is Iraq's first Kurdish Foreign Minister and was a guerrilla fighter during the Kurdish rebellions against Saddam

Oil Minister: Thamir al-Ghadban. Has overseen oil matters for months after first being appointed by the now defunct US Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance

Interior Minister: Falah al-Naqib. A provincial official from Tikrit, Saddam's home region

Finance Minister: Adel Abdul Mahdi. An official from the powerful Shia political party, the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq

Justice Minister: Malik al-Hassan. Elected president of Iraq's Lawyers League after Saddam's fall, he lodged early protests about the conditions of prisoners held by the US-led occupation. He was a political prisoner under Saddam

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