Leaders of several countries and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan hailed on Thursday Iraqi lawmakers ' approval of a list of 36-member new cabinet with two deputy premierships unnamed and five ministerial posts only filled temporarily.

The incomplete lineup was approved by 180 votes in favor, out of a total of 185 votes cast in the 275-member parliament.

Lawmakers warmly applauded the result announced by Hachim al- Hassani, speaker of the National Assembly, in the US-protected Green Zone in central Baghdad.

Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, a Shiite Muslim, was named acting defense minister, but expected to hand over the portfolio to a Sunni Arab.

The cabinet has four deputy prime ministers, including Ahmed Chalabi, a former Pentagon favorite, and Rowsch Nouri Shaways, a former vice president. The remaining two are yet to be named.

Chalabi, a member of the Shiite dominated alliance, was also named as acting oil minister.

Shaways, a Kurd, also became the acting electricity minister.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Thursday that UN Secretary General Annan welcomed the establishment of the transitional government, promising to do everything possible to assist Iraq in its political transition.

In a statement released by the spokesman, Annan said he was pleased it is the result of a broadly consultative and democratic process following the successful elections of Jan. 30.

Annan also reaffirmed that the United Nations is committed to doing everything possible to assist Iraq to move forward to the next phase of its political transition, particularly the drafting of a new constitution and the holding of a referendum and national elections.

US President George W. Bush also extended welcome and pledged to continue American support for Iraq.

The new cabinet "will represent the unity and diversity of Iraq in the months ahead," Bush said in a statement released by the White House, noting that the transitional government will face " important challenges" including training Iraq security forces.

"The United States is confident that the new government will meet these challenges in the months ahead, and America will stand by Iraq, its leaders, and the Iraqi people as they continue their work to establish a stable, peaceful, and democratic Iraq," Bush said.

Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Naji Ottri congratulated his Iraqi counterpart Jaafari on the newly approved cabinet, saying Syria is ready to provide all kinds of help which is necessary to the Iraqi people in all fields.

He expressed the hope that the new Iraqi government can successfully carry out its duty to serve the Iraqi people.

Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi also congratulated Jaafari.

"We are sure that Iraq, thanks to the efforts of Your Excellency and other colleagues in the cabinet, will witness further development and prosperity in the future," Kharrazi said in a message to Jaafari.

For Jaafari himself, the prime minister said after the approval, "It might not be the perfect cabinet, but all the posts were appointed based on the best options to serve Iraqi people and to push the political process forward,"

"It is the first step in rebuilding a new Iraq," he stressed.

Despite the overwhelming approval, critics saw the cabinet as incompetent. Meshaan al-Jubury, a Sunni parliament member, described the new government as one of "sectarian" which failed to represent the Sunni Arabs.

"We were cheated," the outspoken MP told reporters, referring to an allegedly broken promise to include both the Sunnis and supporters of the outgoing Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, a US- favored secular Shiite.

Allawi's party won 40 seats in the assembly but turned out to be excluded from the Jaafari administration.