The Egyptian parliament approved a major government reshuffle Saturday involving 13 ministerial changes. It was the largest change since current Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli was appointed in 2018. None of the major cabinet posts, including the interior minister, foreign minister, finance minister or defense minister were affected.
Egypt’s parliament speaker Hanafi el Gebaly asked members of the assembly Saturday to approve a government reshuffle submitted to the body by President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, involving 13 new cabinet ministers. It was the largest ministerial makeover since the current prime minister was named in 2018.
Egyptian TV announced the names of the new cabinet ministers, noting that discussions over the new appointments have been taking place behind the scenes for the past several weeks, culminating in Saturday’s announcement.
The official appointment of the new ministers is expected to be made by President el-Sissi at the presidential palace Sunday. The Egyptian constitution gives the president the authority to name members of the government.
The shuffle included the ministers of Education, Culture, Health, Military Production, Irrigation, Expatriates, Tourism, Commerce and Industry, Civil Aviation, and Employment.
Egyptian political sociologist Said Sadek tells VOA the changes have been “expected for a long time” and are aimed at appeasing public opinion over economic issues like increases in the costs of food, fuel and electricity, as well as the devaluation of the Egyptian pound.
“It seems the government wanted to please everybody by doing some changes that are cosmetic, [but] do not affect what people complain about, which is the economy, [including] the devaluation of the Egyptian pound,” he said.
Sadek went on to say that a new Health minister was named after the outgoing minister was accused of corruption. He noted complaints about the lethargic performance of the ministers of Commerce and Industry and War Production appear to have prompted their replacement.