Egypt’s interim government sworn in

17 July 2013

No roles for Islamist party figures in Egypt interim government

The new interim Egyptian government has been sworn into power with no roles given to members of Islamist parties.   

The Muslim Brotherhood has refused to participate in the government and states that the interim cabinet is “illegitimate”. The Brotherhood-backed former president Mohammed Mursi was ousted by the military on 3 July.

The Al-Nour party has also declined to play a role in the interim government, although it did support the removal of Mursi. Its leader, Younis Makhyoun, stated in local media he did not want the party to be an alternative to the Muslim Brotherhood. 

There are a total of 34 members of the new government including three women and three Coptic Christians.

The new government is overseen by Adly Mansour, the interim president and former head of the Supreme Court.

Hazem al-Beblawi, a former head of the Finance Ministry, is the new prime minister. General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi who led the overthrowing of Mursi has been appointed deputy prime minister and defence minister.

Ziad Bahaa-Eldin is the second deputy prime minister and international cooperation minister. He is a founding member of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party.

Nabil Fahmy, a former ambassador to the US, is the new foreign minister. Mohammed Ibrahim remains the interior minister, while Ahmad Galal, the director of the Cairo-headquartered Economic Research Forum, has been appointed as the minister of finance.

Hisham Zaazou has been sworn in as the minister of tourism, having tendered his resignation from the post under president Mursi. In June, he pledged to step down after Mursi’s appointed Adel el-Khayat as the new governor of Luxor, despite his alleged association with the killing of tourists at the historic site in 1997.

The interim government is expected to draw up amendments to the constitution and set out a timetable for new parliamentary elections. A referendum on the constitution is expected to take place before the end of this year.

The swearing-in of the new government comes as clashes with Muslim Brotherhood members intensify. On 16 July, there were attempts by the brotherhood to block Cairo’s 6 October Bridge, which is a central route through the capital and over the Nile.

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