"The establishment of this council represents the Iraqi national will after the collapse of the dictatorial regime," said Mohammed Bahr al-Uloum, a council member and returning exile Shiite ayatollah.

"The council will direct all of its efforts to achieve security and stability in the country, revitalizing the national economy and providing public services," he told a press conference after the meeting.

UN special representative Sergio Vieira de Mello called the day "historic," but warned the task of rebuilding Iraq was "daunting."

"There are defining moments in history and for Iraq, today is definitely one of those," Vieira de Mello told the council.

"Freedom, dignity and security must from now on be taken for granted by all Iraqis," de Mello said.

The Governing Council of Iraq is the first national executive body in the war-shattered country since US-led coalition forces ousted former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein more than three months ago.

The council is composed of 13 Shiites, five Sunnis, five Kurds, one Christian and one Turkman, roughly reflecting Iraq's religious and ethnic make-up.

About 60 percent of Iraq's 24 million people are Shiite Muslims, but the country has been ruled by Sunnis for decades.

Among the council members are Ahmed Chalabi, chief of the Iraqi National Congress, and Abdel-Aziz al-Hakim, a leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution, and Jalal Talabani and Massoud Barzani, leaders of the two main Kurdish groups.

The 25-member governing body will have the power to appoint ministers, approve the national budget and select members of a committee to draft a new constitution. But top US civilian administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, still has a final say.

"The launch of the governing council will mean that Iraqis play a more central role in running their country," Bremer said in a statement to Iraqis on Saturday.

(Xinhua News Agency July 14, 2003)