Iraqi Lawmakers Approve Government of Prime Minister-Designate Kadhimi

Iraq's then-President Jalal Talabani is seen during a meeting with Iraqi politician Mustafa al-Kadhimi in the heavily fortified Green Zone area in Baghdad, Iraq, on Oct. 30, 2005. Ali Haider-Pool/Getty Images

BAGHDAD—Iraqi lawmakers approved a new government on May 7 after six months without one as parties squabbled until the last minute over Cabinet seats in backroom deals.

Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, Iraq’s intelligence chief and a former journalist, will head the new government. He will begin his term without a full Cabinet, however, after several ministerial candidates were rejected.