Amid Mutterings, New Premier Takes Bow

A few Shiite Muslim members of Iraq’s National Assembly were miffed and may have suspected betrayal Thursday as Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani delivered his presidential inaugural address.

The ceremonial president, whose most important job is naming a prime minister, forgot to announce the choice: Ibrahim Jafari, head of Iraq’s oldest Shiite party. After the assembly session had adjourned and TV cameras had left the room, Talabani rushed back to the stage to hastily make his announcement.

Jafari was unfazed. Displaying the moderation and aplomb that have helped make him one of Iraq’s most respected figures, he stepped out of the room and essentially announced his own appointment to reporters.

Then he got down to business, saying he would form a Cabinet quickly to end the political haggling that has gone on for more than two months since the Jan. 30 national election.

“I hope within one or two weeks maximum I will name the Cabinet,” a smiling Jafari said.

The 58-year-old physician, who spent 23 years in exile opposing Saddam Hussein, surprised even some of his colleagues with the determination he displayed in fighting for the appointment.

Now Jafari faces a tough challenge in dividing the 31 Cabinet posts among the country’s diverse ethnic groups and religious sects, including minority Sunni Muslims who largely boycotted the election.

As he had promised, Jafari reached out to Sunnis, ordering a vague amnesty for Iraqis linked to Hussein’s Sunni-dominated Baath Party. It was unclear exactly to whom the amnesty would apply, and from what they would be exempt. Jafari did say that the amnesty would not extend to criminals and insurgents.

Although Jafari has served as interim vice president since June, he has remained somewhat of a political enigma. His selection, which has been a foregone conclusion since late February, has aroused misgivings among several groups.

Sunni Muslims distrust his Islamic Dawa Party because it has had close ties to Shiite-led Iran. Secular Iraqis and religious minorities are concerned that his strong Muslim beliefs could lead him to push for changes in Iraqi law that would diminish the status of women.

A devout Shiite, who according to an aide has the scholarly rank of mujtahid, or one qualified to give religious rulings, Jafari refuses to shake the hands of women. He was behind a push last year to make Islamic law Iraq’s legal basis for dealing with issues such as marriage, divorce and inheritance.

The Dawa Party, founded in 1957 in the southern city of Najaf, long opposed Hussein’s regime. Suppressed by the dictator, it was given sanctuary in Iran, and Jafari lived for nine years under that country’s Islamic rule. He then moved to London, where he led his party branch in exile until his return to Iraq in 2003 after the U.S.-led invasion.

Jafari, who is soft-spoken and often expresses himself in general terms, told The Times in February that his religious beliefs would not affect his duties.

“I will not act in a personal manner, but rather represent a harmonious program that has been agreed upon,” he said.

The main goals for his government, he said then, would be “security, political independence, economic prosperity, guaranteed freedoms and the participation of the whole Iraqi spectrum.”

“We will use toughness in those situations that require toughness, and we will use the highest degree of softness in those areas that need softness,” he said in February.