Bah Ndaw in white gown swears in as Mali's interim president in Bamako, September 25, 2020. /CFP
Mali's interim president Bah Ndaw, a retired colonel who was sworn in last month, appointed a 25-strong government on Monday, in which members of the military occupy key posts, according to a decree read live on state television by the president's secretary-general Sekou Traore.
At least four central cabinet posts – defense, security, territorial administration and national reconciliation – went to colonels in the army, said the decree.
Following the August 18 coup that toppled president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, the junta vowed to relinquish control and hold fresh elections.
But Mali's West African neighbors imposed potentially crippling sanctions, and a key sticking point in negotiations with the junta has been whether the transition will be led by soldiers or civilians.
Mali's justice minister Kassim Tapo's building was burned during the coup in Bamako, August 19, 2020. /CFP
While many posts in the transition government went to soldiers, civilians were also given some key positions.
As one of the junta's leaders, Colonel Sadio Camara, became defense minister, former prosecutor Mohamed Sidda Dicko got the role of justice minister. And while Colonel Modibo Kone received the security and civil protection portfolio, former ambassador Zeini Moulaye is now foreign affairs minister.
Junta spokesman Colonel Ismael Wague, who broke the news of the coup in a dramatic night-time television broadcast, has become national reconciliation minister.
Former armed groups that signed a peace agreement in 2015 will also be represented in the transitional government.
Members of Tuareg groups that led a rebellion in the north were awarded the agriculture and fisheries as well as youth and sports ministries, while pro-Bamako groups also received posts.
Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo chairs the ECOWAS meeting about Mali's political situation in Accra, September 15, 2020. /CFP
The West African bloc ECOWAS has heaped pressure on Mali's junta to swiftly restore civilian rule since the army toppled Keita.
After long negotiations, the junta finally agreed to complete that transition within 18 months at most.
Last week the junta abandoned a contentious measure that would have enabled its leader, Colonel Assimi Goita, to potentially replace Ndaw if ever he was incapacitated.
Goita officially holds the post of interim vice-president. Mali's interim prime minister is former foreign minister Moctar Ouane.
The coup came after months of protests over the country's bloody jihadist insurgency, economic struggles and chronic inter-ethnic violence.
This is the country's second coup in less than 10 years, following the one in March 2012.
(With input from agencies)