May 3, 2005: Ibrahim Al-Jaafari and His Cabinet Are Sworn into Office

The predominantly Shiite Arab administration of Ibrahim al-Jaafari is sworn into office with several posts unfilled. It was originally planned that a Sunni Arab would hold the position of defense minister, but the appointment was blocked by the Shiite officials who said that he had close ties to the deposed Baathist regime. [New York Times, 5/4/2005]