The choice of cabinet officials was seen as a litmus test for whether the rebels who ousted Bashar al-Assad would deliver on a pledge to create a government representative of all Syrians.

The State Department voiced cautious optimism over the new cabinet, which includes members of Syria’s Christian, Alawite, Druze and Kurdish minorities.

Nearly four months after the ousting of 24-year President Bashar al-Assad, Syria has announced a new government, kickstarting a five-year transitional period that aims to restore stability and peace to a country that has endured more than a decade of war.