Baghdad, Iraq ? Iraq’s National Assembly on Thursday approved the country’s first democratically elected government, a Shiite-dominated body that excludes the Sunni minority from meaningful positions and could hamper efforts to dampen the deadly insurgency.

Two of the four deputy prime minister’s slots remained vacant, however, and five ministries, including the important defense and oil slots, were left in the hands of temporary managers.

The outcome also signaled another surprising political comeback for Ahmad Chalabi, the one-time Pentagon favorite who later fell from grace over accusations he leaked intelligence to Iran and gave flawed evidence that Saddam Hussein was hoarding weapons of mass destruction.

Chalabi, a Shiite, will serve as deputy prime minister and acting oil minister. His nephew, Ali Abdel-Amir Allawi, was appointed finance minister.

Incoming Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari hailed the new Cabinet as “the first step in building the new Iraq.” While the country faces significant hurdles, he said Iraqis who “challenged tyranny” by electing a new parliament in January “will help this government to succeed and will not be intimidated.”

However, Sunni leaders, including Deputy President Ghazi al-Yawer, expressed disappointment with the lineup.

“The number of ministries given to the Sunnis is not enough,” al-Yawer said. But he said the issue could be resolved soon as Iraq continues its transition to democracy, including electing a new government by year’s end.

The primary goal of this first elected government will be to write a permanent constitution by mid-August. It must be submitted to a referendum no later than Oct. 15. If the constitution is approved, elections for a permanent government must be held by Dec. 15.

Sunni factions had been promised six ministers and one deputy prime minister, but walked away with just four relatively insignificant portfolios, including tourism.

Shiite leaders rejected al-Jaafari’s initial choices for a Sunni deputy prime minister and defense minister because of suspicions they had ties to Saddam’s Baath Party, which brutally repressed Shiites and Kurds. Sunni factions also had hoped for other important posts, but lost out to competing factions within al-Jaafari’s Shiite-dominated alliance and its Kurdish allies.

U.S. officials had been pressing for a resolution to the three-month stalemate, worrying the political vacuum was encouraging insurgents, who have staged a series of dramatic and well-coordinated attacks in recent weeks.

President Bush welcomed Thursday’s vote, issuing a statement that the Cabinet “will represent the unity and diversity” of the country as it begins the work of drafting a new constitution, fighting terrorism and ensuring basic services for its citizens.

However, nearly a third of the 275-member National Assembly stayed away from the vote, underscoring the myriad ethnic and religious divisions that have hampered the formation of a government since landmark parliamentary elections Jan. 30.

The 185 lawmakers assembled behind the blast walls and sandbags of Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone voted by a show of hands, approving the list by 180 votes. A bouquet of flowers filled the seat of one absent lawmaker — Lamia Abed Khadouri al-Sakri, a Shiite Muslim legislator gunned down in her home the previous day.