Qatar enlarges cabinet as second woman enters line-up

0 Comments | AFP, July, 2008

DOHA (AFP) — The emir of Qatar on Tuesday enlarged the government to 20 members by creating new ministries and appointed a second woman to the cabinet at the head of a reinstated health ministry.

Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabr al-Thani keeps his posts as prime minister and foreign minister while the key energy, economy and interior portfolios also remain unchanged, according to a decree published by state news agency QNA.

The new ministries decreed by Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, ruler of the energy-rich Gulf state, were environment, social affairs, international cooperation and culture.

The health ministry which had been demoted to a government agency was reinstated and allocated to a woman member of the ruling family, Sheikha Ghalia bin...