EGYPT’S NEW CABINET will be officially announced and sworn in today.
The country’s first civilian president, Mohammed Morsi, will swear in the members today, and some details have already emerged of who will be taking up the positions.
Egypt’s incoming Cabinet will have few Islamists and some holdovers from the outgoing military-backed team in key positions, according to a partial list released by state media yesterday.
Egypt’s official news media listed more than 20 ministers in the new Cabinet, so far including only two members from the Brotherhood. The Brotherhood appointees will hold the higher education and the housing ministries.
The military council, headed by Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, took over power following longtime President Hosni Mubarak’s ouster.
The BBC reports that Field Marshal Tantawi will be the new defence minister, while Mustafa Musaad will be the education minister and Tariq Waif will be the housing minister.
Ministers
Morsi had promised an inclusive government, but an alliance of pro-democracy advocates criticised him for choosing a prime minister with few known accomplishments, while alienating political groups with liberal leanings.
According to the partial list, the ministers of finance and foreign affairs from the outgoing transitional military-backed government keep their posts.
The Cabinet will have two women ministers, including the only Coptic Christian. The new government will have no representative from the radical Salafi party, Al-Nour, which backed Morsi in his bid for the presidency.
- Additional reporting AP
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