Aung San Suu Kyi, whose party won historic elections in Myanmar, has been given a place in the new cabinet.
Ms Suu Kyi is barred from the presidency herself and had been widely expected not to take a ministry.
But her name was on a list of 18 submitted to parliament by President-elect Htin Kyaw.
Yangon says she will head up foreign affairs, energy, and education and be minister in the president's office. There are no other women appointed to the cabinet.
Myanmar's constitution, drafted by the outgoing military rulers, prevents Aung San Suu Kyi from becoming president because her two sons have British passports.
President-elect Htin Kyaw is her close ally, and she previously said that she would be "above the president" anyway, governing through a proxy.