Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri formed a new unity government late on Monday that includes two ministers from Hezbollah ending more than four months of political wrangling.
"Finally, a government of national unity is born," Hariri told reporters after a presidential decree announcing the new cabinet line-up was announced.
"We have turned a page that we don't want to go back to and opened a new page that we strive to make a page of concord and work," he said.
I want to be honest from the start: this government can be a chance to renew faith in the state and its institutions ... or it can turn into a replay of our failures
"I want to be honest from the start: this government can be a chance to renew faith in the state and its institutions ... or it can turn into a replay of our failures."
Lebanon has been without a functioning government since Hariri led his coalition to victory in a June parliamentary election against Hezbollah and its allies.
A government acceptable to all main parties is seen as key to maintaining stability in a country facing sectarian and political tensions, as well as a huge debt burden.
Foreign reactions
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner welcomed the formation of the Lebanese government and pledged the former colonial power's support for Hariri.
"The formation of a new government was necessary to resolve the conflict that Lebanon was facing, to assure the security and stability of the country...," Kouchner said.
He urged the new government to push through economic reforms demanded by donors and implement U.N. Resolution 1701 that ended a 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.
Hariri spent more than four months brokering a deal with the opposition. A warming of ties between the two sides' main backers Syria and Saudi Arabia in recent weeks helped ease the rift in Beirut and led eventually to a power-sharing agreement.
Unity government
The formation of a new government was necessary to resolve the conflict that Lebanon was facing, to assure the security and stability of the country
The new 30-minister cabinet includes 15 ministers from Hariri's coalition, 10 from the opposition including two Hezbollah ministers, and five, including the key interior and defense portfolios, were nominated by President Suleiman.
The president's ministers in theory hold the balance of power in cabinet, with the Hariri coalition unable to gain a simple majority and the minority unable to block key decisions as they do not hold a third plus one votes in government.
Incumbents Ziad Baroud and Elias al-Murr kept their interior and defense portfolios.
Raya Haffar al-Hassan was appointed finance minister, responsible for managing Lebanon's public debt burden, while retired university professor Ali al-Shami was named foreign minister.
Mohammed Safadi kept his job as economy minister.
Many challenges ahead
Hassan, who is close to Hariri, manages a United Nations Development Program project aimed at supporting decision-making at the office of the prime minister.
Shami, 64, was named by close Hezbollah ally Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. He will be the country's top diplomat when Lebanon takes over a seat at the United Nations Security Council at the start of next year.
The new government's first task would be to draw up a policy statement and present it to parliament for a vote of confidence.
Despite deep disagreements between the two camps on some crucial issues, such as the fate of Hezbollah's guerrilla army, the statement is expected to go smoothly and swiftly.
Hariri is then expected to visit Damascus and hold talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in a move set to redraw the political landscape in Lebanon.
Hariri's coalition had accused Syria of assassinating statesman Rafik al-Hariri, Saad's father, in February 2005.
Syria denies any links, but the killing forced Damascus to end its 29-year military presence in Lebanon in April 2005 and led to the formation of a special court in The Hague to investigate and prosecute the killers.
Hopes are also high that Hariri, a billionaire businessman who is close to Saudi Arabia, and his government will tackle the country's economic woes.
Hariri said he looked forward to tackling the country's economic woes, public debt and its need to modernize government institutions.
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