Egypt governance

16 July 2013

Key members of Egypt’s interim leadership following the overthrow of Mohamed Mursi: Adly Mansour, Hazem el-Beblawi, Mohamed ElBaradei, Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, Ahmed Galal and Ziad Bahaa el-Din

Adly Mansour

Position: Interim president, Egypt

Biography: Adly Mansour was installed as interim president of Egypt after the ousting of Mohamed Mursi. He was sworn in on 4 July in front of the constitutional court. Previously, he was head of the Supreme Constitutional Court, having being appointed to the role in May by Mursi. Before that, he had served as deputy head of the constitutional court since 1992. Mansour will oversee the transition to a new elected government, with parliamentary elections planned for early 2014. His immediate tasks include creating a panel to review the constitution drawn up by the previous administration. He plans to put the constitutional amendments to a referendum within four months. He will also oversee presidential elections once a new parliament has been formed. Mansour graduated with a degree in law from Cairo University. He also has a postgraduate degree in law and a postgraduate degree in management science. He graduated from France’s Ecole Nationale d’Administration.

Hazem el-Beblawi

Position: Interim prime minister

Biography: Hazem el-Beblawi is the interim prime minister of Egypt, following the army’s ousting of Mursi on 3 July. El-Beblawi was immediately charged with forming a new cabinet ahead of planned parliamentary elections. He was previously head of the finance ministry, having taken on the role after the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak in February 2011. In October 2011, he attempted to resign in protest at the killing of several Coptic Christian demonstrators by Egyptian soldiers. He also formed the Egyptian Social Democratic Party following the revolution. El-Beblawi is known for his liberal views on the management of Egypt’s economy. Previously, he was an adviser to the Arab Monetary Fund, based in Abu Dhabi. He worked as an undersecretary-general at the UN between 1995 and 2000. He was the chairman of the Export Development Bank of Egypt between 1983 and 1995.

Mohamed ElBaradei

Position: Interim vice-president

Biography: Mohamed ElBaradei is vice-president in Egypt’s interim leadership. He has played a central role in consolidating opposition forces against Mursi and it had been anticipated that he would be appointed interim prime minister. However, the hardline Al-Nour party blocked his appointment. In November 2012, ElBaradei co-ordinated an alliance of opposition parties, the National Salvation Front (NSF), in reaction to Mursi’s attempts to give himself wide-reaching powers after he became president in June. In April 2012, ElBaradei created the Constitution Party. That year, he did not stand as candidate for the presidential election. ElBaradei was previously director-general of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005 for his work preventing nuclear proliferation. He has a doctorate in international law from New York University.

Abdul Fattah al-Sisi

Position: Defence minister and general commander of Egypt’s armed forces

Biography: General Abdul Fattah al-Sisi played a key role in toppling Mohamed Mursi, after he issued the ultimatum to the president on 2 July that he had 48 hours to heed “the will of the people”. After the deadline passed, Al-Sisi announced on national television that as the president had refused to listen to the people he had been removed from power. Mursi had appointed Al-Sisi as general commander of the armed forces and defence minister in August 2012. Al-Sisi is 58 years old, 20 years younger than his predecessor, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, a close ally of former president Hosni Mubarak. Despite overthrowing a Muslim Brotherhood-backed government, Al-Sisi is known for being a religiously devout man. He trained at the UK Joint Services Command and Staff College and has a master’s degree from the US Army War College in Pennsylvania. He graduated from Egypt’s military academy in 1977.

Ahmed Galal

Position: Finance minister

Biography Ahmed Galal is finance minister in Egypt’s interim government. Before his appointment, Galal was the managing director of the Cairo-headquartered Economic Research Forum, a research institution covering Arab countries, Iran and Turkey. He had held the position since 2007. Between 2000 and 2006, he was executive director and director of research at the Egyptian Centre for Economic Studies, a think-tank focused on economic development in Egypt. He previously worked at the Washington-based World Bank for 18 years, joining the institution in 1984. He held various roles at the bank, including industrial economist for the Europe, Middle East and North Africa region, senior and principal economist in the research arm of the bank and economic adviser in the private sector development department. He completed a doctorate in economics from the US’ Boston University in 1986.

Ziad Bahaa el-Din

Position: Deputy prime minister

Biography: Ziad Bahaa el-Din is deputy prime minister in Egypt’s interim government. He joined the Egyptian Social Democratic Party as a founding member in 2011, following the ousting of President Hosni Mubarak. In the 2012 parliamentary elections, he won a seat representing the South Asyut region. He served as chairman of the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority between 2008 and 2011. He was also the chairman of the Egyptian General Authority for Investment and Free Zones from 2004 to 2007. He is a founder and member of the board of directors at the Ahmed Bahaa el-Din Cultural Foundation, which promotes creativity, education and training for Egyptian youth. Between 1997 and 2000, he was a senior legal adviser to Egypt’s economy ministry. El-Din graduated from the American University in Cairo in 1987. He also has a doctorate in financial law from the London School of Economics.

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