Egypt’s parliament has voted in favour of a long-touted cabinet reshuffle, approving the appointment of nine new cabinet ministers, mainly in ministries related to public services and the economy.
The reshuffle includes new ministers for the portfolios of agriculture, parliamentary affairs, local development, planning and administrative reform, education, higher education, and transport. The ministries of supply and of trade and industry were also merged, as were the ministries of investment and international cooperation.
Parliamentary speaker Ali Abdel-Aal told MPs in a plenary session on Tuesday afternoon that he had received a letter from President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi informing him that a limited cabinet reshuffle had been introduced and that parliament should vote on this reshuffle in line with Article 147 of the constitution. Abdel-Aal indicated during the session that the reshuffle represents the first application of Egypt’s new mixed presidential-parliamentary system. The speaker also said the approval vote was in line with Article 147 of the constitution, which stipulates that the reshuffle must be approved by a third of MPs, or at least 200 MPs. Prime Minister Sherif Ismail was also in attendance during the vote session.
New faces
Abdel-Aal read out the list of the new cabinet ministers during the session, along with details from their curricula vitae.
Hesham El-Sherif, a former head of the Cabinet’s Information and Decision Support Centre (IDSC) thinktank, was appointed minister of local development, replacing Ahmed Zaki Badr.
Hala El-Said, an MP and professor of economics at Cairo University, became minister of planning, follow-up and administrative reform in place of Ashraf El-Arabi.
Abdel-Moneim El-Banna, head of the Agricultural Research Centre, was appointed minister of agriculture in place of Essam Fayed.
Former judge Omar Marawan was appointed minister of parliamentary affairs in place of Magdi El-Agati.
MP and Mubarak-era minister of social solidarity, Ali El-Moselhi, was named minister of supply and trade in place of Mohamed Ali El-Moselhi (no relation), former minister of supply. After the merge of the trade portfolio with the supply ministry and Tarek Qabil, remains the minister of industry.
Khaled Atef Abdel-Ghaffar, the head of Menoufiya University, was appointed minister of higher education in place of Ashraf Shiha.
Tarek Galal Shawki became minister of education in place of El-Hilali El-Sherbini.
Hesham Arafat was appointed minister of transport in place of Galal Saeed.
Contrary to media expectations and parliamentary demands, the cabinet reshuffle did not see the departure of Minister of Health Ahmed Emadeddin, Minister of Culture Helmi El-Namnam, and Minister of Religious Endowments Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa.
The four “sovereign” cabinet ministers – Minister of Defence Sedki Sobhi, Minister of Interior Magdi Abdel-Ghaffar, Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry, and Minister of Justice Hossam Abdel-Reheim – kept their posts.
The reshuffle also saw the appointment of three ministerial deputies – Mohamed Abdel-Tawab, Mona Mehrez, Safwat Abdel-Hamid – for the minister of agriculture and one ministerial deputy – Salah Abdel-Rahman – for the minister of planning.
The new ministers are:
Sahar Nasr – Minister of Investment and International Cooperation (a merger of two separate ministries)
Abdel-Moneim El-Banna – Minister of Agriculture, replacing Essam Fayed
Omar El-Khattab Arafa – Minister of Parliamentary affairs, replacing Magdy El-Agati
Ali El-Sayed Mosselhi – Minister of Supply and Trade (a merger of two separate ministries)
Mohamed Hesham Zein El-Abdein El-Sherif – Minister of Local Development, replacing Ahmed Zaki Badri
Hala Helmy El-Saeed Younis – Minister of Planning and Administrative Reform, replacing Ashraf El-Arabi
Khaled Atef Abdel-Ghaffar – Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, replacing Ashraf El-Shihy
Tarek Galal Shawki Ahmed Shawki – Minister of Education, replacing El-Hilali El-Sherbeeni
Hesham Arafat Mahdi Ahmed – Minister of Transportation, replacing Galal El-Said
