Egypt’s new cabinet was sworn in on Thursday before President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi days after Mostafa Madbouly, who will also remain minister of housing, was named as prime minister succeeding Sherif Ismail who has resigned early this month.
The new cabinet includes eight women ministers, the highest rate in Egypt’s history.
The formation of the government includes an unexpected change in the Ministries of Defence and Interior. Lieutenant General Mohamed Zaki was appointed the new minister of defence, succeeding Sedki Sobhi. Zaki was the leader of the Egyptian Paratroopers and the Republican Guard during the presidency of Mohamed Morsi. He was also a witness in Morsi’s “conspiracy” case. In 2017, Zaki was promoted to lieutenant general.
General Mahmoud Tawfik, head of the National Security Agency, was named minister of interior, succeeding Magdy Abdel Ghaffar.
Most ministers from Sherif Ismail’s government are remaining in their posts, including Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry, Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mohamed Shaker, Minister of Social Solidarity Ghada Waly, Minister of State for Military Production Mohamed Al-Assar, Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr, Minister of Religious Endowment (Awkaf) Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa, and Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El-Molla.
The ministers continuing on also include Minister of Immigration and Egyptian Expatriates Affairs Nabila Makram, Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel Aaty, Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Anani, Minister of Supply and Internal Trade Ali Moselhi, Minister for Education and Technical Education Tarek Shawky, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Omar Marwan, Minister of Higher Education Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Minister of Planning Hala Al-Saeed, Minister of Transportation Hisham Arafat, Minister of Culture Inas Abdel Dayem, Minister of Justice Mohamed Ahmed, and Minister of Tourism Rania Al-Mashat.
The new ministers include Mohamed Moeit as minister of finance, Younes Al-Masri as minister of civil aviation, Mahmoud Shaarawy as minister of local development, Hala Zayed as minister of health and population, Yasmeen Salah Al-Din as minister of environment, Ezz El-Din Abou Steet as minister of agriculture, Amr Talaat as minister of communication and information technology, Ashraf Sobhi as minister of youth and sports, Amr Bayoumi as minister of trade and industry, and Hesham Tawfik as minister of public sector affairs.
The new government also includes the highest number ever of deputy ministers.