Zaev Unveils New Cabinet in Macedonia

Zoran Zaev revealed the composition of his cabinet late Sunday, which parliament is expected to approved this week. Speaker of Parliament Talat Xhaferi has set the date for the session to start on Tuesday.

The key posts are to be shared between Zaev's Social Democratic Party, SDSM, and Macedonia's main ethnic Albanian party, the Democratic Union for Integration, DUI.

While the SDSM-led alliance which holds 49 of the 120 seats in parliament, has appointed 16 ministers, the DUI, which controls ten seats, has appointed six and the Alliance for Albanians, which has three MPs, has appointed two.

Besa [Oath], the second-largest ethnic Albanian party, decided not to join the new government but will support it in parliament.

The two Albanian parties plus the SDSM together control 62 of the 120 seats in parliament and - with the external support of Besa - that number reaches 67.

SDSM vice-president Radmila Shekerinska will run the Defence Ministry while the party's secretary-general, Oliver Spasovski, will be the new Interior Minister.

Veteran diplomat Nikola Dimitrov, who was a VMRO-DPMNE dissident and a critic of the previous government, led by Nikola Gruevski, will be the Foreign Minister.

Mila Carovska, from the SDSM, will run the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies while Dragan Tevdovski, from the same party, will be the new Finance Minister.

Renata Deskoska will be the new Education Minister while the Agriculture Ministry will be led by Ljupco Nikolovski. Goran Sugareski will be the new Transport Minister and Robert Alagjozovski will head the Ministry of Culture.

Damjan Mancevski will be Information Society and Administration Minister.

The SDSM-led alliance has also appointed...