Farhan Ahmed sworn-in as prime minister for third term; forms a cabinet of 12

BY THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

12 May 2022, Rajagriha: Farhan Ahmed has been appointed as prime minister for an unprecedented third term in office by Rashtradhyaksh Varuna Sriraya on 12 May 2022, after the members of the parliament voted in favour of Hazarika to be the leader of the house. Speaker Tyler Mullins signed the order of nomination and informed the Rashtradhyaksh about the decision of the house following which he formally approve the appointment of the prime minister.

Prime Minister Farhan Ahmed, 18 becomes the only fourth prime minister to receive a third term in office, such feat which was formerly received by Varuna Sriraya in 2016, Klarissa Sriraya in 2017, and Tanaya Mukherjee in 2018 and is also the first prime minister who is not a member of the Sriraya dynasty to receive such feat. He is expected to be sworn-in into office tomorrow by Rashtradhyaksh Varuna Sriraya.

Apart from the prime minister, a cabinet of 11 ministers was also appointed of whom 7 were of cabinet rank, while rest 4 are state ministers. Among the cabinet ministers include former Defence Minister Rory Leonard who has also been appointed as deputy prime minister, former caretaker prime minister Prince Abhivansh who has been appointed as senior minister, Princess Tanvi, Charles Burgardt, Matthew Tonna, former deputy prime minister Liam Alexander, and former Leader of Opposition William Cooper.

Those appointed in state rank include Praneet Singh, Kevin Doan, Rey Jr. Mancio, and Rafe Hargreaves. Except for Cooper and Burfield, all other ministers have served in the previous cabinet of Prime Minister Ahmed and Liam Alexander making a return to the central cabinet after more than a year.

Along with the appointment of the cabinet, the portfolios were also made known. Prime Minister Farhan Ahmed will also be in-charge of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Information and Public Relations, Minority Welfare; and shall also be-incharge of all important portfolios and policy issues which have not been allocated to any other minister.

Deputy Prime Minister Rory Leonard shall be the Minister of Defence, Cabinet Affairs, Law and Justice; Senior Minister Prince Abhivansh shall be the Minister of Local Administration and Interstate Cooperation, Princess Tanvi as the Minister of Royal Household Affairs, Social Issues and Citizens Welfare.

Union Minister Charles Burgardt who formerly served as the Minister of Finance, Law and Justice has been named as the new Minister of National Development, Education, and as the Minister for the Privy Council. Matthew Tonna retained the portfolio of Parliamentary Affairs, and has also been named as the new Finance, and Religious Affairs Minister. Former Deputy Prime Minister Liam Alexander has been named as the new External Affairs, Planning and Public Policies Minister, while former Leader of Opposition William Cooper has been appointed as the Minister of Culture, Immigration and Citizenship and as Minister in the Prime Minister's Office.

Among the Ministers of State include Praneet Singh who shall be the Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports (Independent Charge), Home Affairs and Royal Household Affairs; Kevin Doan shall be the Minister of State for E-communications and Interconnectedness (Independent charge), Defence, Law and Justice. Rey Jr. Mancio has been named as the Minister of State for Environment and Natural Resources (Independent Charge), Local Administration and Culture; while Rafe Hargreaves shall be the Minister of State for Science, Technology and Innovation (Independent Charge), External Affairs and Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office.

External Affairs Ministers Liam Alexander who was earlier defeated in the by-election by his newly-appointed ministerial colleague Rafe Hargreaves in the Chandril by-election is required to be elected to the parliament within six months under constitutional requirements. It is also the first time since December 2015 that a purely non-partisan cabinet has been formed.