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BERLIN (AP) — The latest on Germany's new government (all times local):
5:10 p.m.
Chancellor Angela Merkel has named an ambitious young conservative as health minister in Germany's new government, signaling a desire to include critics in her fourth term.
Merkel pledged to put fresh faces in her Cabinet after reaching a coalition deal this month with the center-left Social Democrats. On Monday, a congress of her party is to sign off on the coalition deal, which will still need approval from the Social Democrats' members to take effect.
Her most prominent appointment Sunday was 37-year-old Jens Spahn as health minister. Spahn has been a leading advocate of a sharper conservative profile than Merkel's centrist approach.
Other Cabinet newcomers are 45-year-old Julia Kloeckner as agriculture minister; 46-year-old Anja Karliczek as education minister and 45-year-old Helge Braun as Merkel's new chief of staff.
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12: 05 p.m.
Chancellor Angela Merkel is preparing to name her ministerial team for a new German government, amid reports that she plans to promote an ambitious conservative critic.
Merkel has signaled she will put fresh faces in her Cabinet after a coalition deal with the center-left Social Democrats, who won the powerful finance ministry, drew criticism.
She pledged to name her Christian Democratic Union's proposed ministers Sunday, a day before a party congress considers the coalition accord.
The deal must still be approved in a ballot of the Social Democrats' members to take effect.
Much attention has focused on whether Merkel gives a Cabinet job to 37-year-old Jens Spahn, a leading advocate of a more conservative approach. The Bild am Sonntag newspaper and the news agency dpa reported she will name him health minister.
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