Who's who: Meet Egypt's 10 new ministers in Sherif Ismail's cabinet

Ahram Online , Wednesday 23 Mar 2016

New ministers of justice, finance, investment, civil aviation, transportation, antiquities, manpower, water resources, public business sector and tourism were appointed in Egyptian cabinet

Egypt
Egypt's president Sisi swears in 10 new ministers in cabinet reshuffle (Al-Ahram)

Ten new ministers were sworn in on Wednesday before Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi at Cairo's Ittihadeya Presidential Palace.

Minister of Justice - Mohamed Hossam Abdel-Rahim

Born in February 1945, Abdel-Rahim graduated from the Faculty of Law at Ain Shams University in 1966.

He started his career as a prosecutor in 1967, later being appointed as a judge in 1976.

In July 2014, he was appointed as head of the cassation court and the High Judicial Council for his seniority.

Abdel-Rahim is replacing justice minister Ahmed El-Zend, who was dismissed from his position by the prime minister after he made comments two weeks ago that many considered blasphemous.

In response to a TV host's question on whether he would jail journalists, El-Zend said he would jail anyone "even if he were a prophet, peace and blessings be upon him."

Minister of Finance - Amr El-Garhy

Before his appointment, El-Garhy served as managing director for Agrifoods Division and head of corporate finance and investment review functions at leading Egypt-based regional private equity firm Qalaa Holdings since 2013.

El-Garhy was also vice-chairman and managing director of the state-owned National Investment Bank, where he oversaw the privatisation of the Bank of Alexandria and the marketing of Egyptian government bonds on international markets.

He previously served as deputy CEO of the Qatari Ahli Bank QSC and was managing director of investment banking at Cairo-based regional investment bank EFG Hermes.

Minister of Investment - Dalia Khorshid

Dalia Khorshid is the vice president and group treasurer at Netherlands-based Orascom Construction Limited. She joined the company in 2005 after eight years as vice president in CitiBank.

Khorshid is a graduate of the American University in Cairo with a bachelor's degree in business administration.

Minister of Civil Aviation - Sherif Fathy

Fathy has chaired Egypt's national airline EgyptAir since August 2015, and was appointed to the post by outgoing aviation minister Hossam Kamal.

Having close to three decades of experience in the civil aviation industry, Fathy has held several leading positions with major European and Arab airlines, including Netherland's KLM and the United States' Northwest.

The 50-year-old Fathy also served as regional director of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in the Middle East and North Africa.

The European-educated aviation veteran has received several certificates in management and quality.

Minister of Transportation - Galal Said

Said served as the governor of Cairo for more than two years. He was sworn in before interim President Adly Mansour in August 2013 in the cabinet of Hazem El-Beblawi.

Said received his PhD from the Canadian University of Waterloo in strategic planning for transportation in 1979. He received his Master's degree from the School of Engineering at the Canadian McMaster University in the field of transportation and traffic.

Said previously served as the minister of transportation in the cabinet headed by Kamal El-Ganzoury in December 2011 under the rule of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF).

He also served as the governor of Upper Egypt's Fayoum governorate from 2008 till 2011.

He has also worked as an academic in Cairo, Fayoum and in Kuwait universities in the engineering field.

The new minister faces a number of challenges including the renovation of Egypt’s deteriorating railways and bridges, as well as maintenance of the Cairo metro line.

He succeeds Saad Mohamed El-Geyoushi as minister of transportation.

Minister of Antiquities - Khaled El-Anany

Egyptologist Khaled El-Anany served as the general supervisor of the Grand Egyptian Museum in 2015.

He also served as the 18th director-general of the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation (NMEC) in October 2014.

In 2001, he completed his doctorate in Egyptology from France's Montpellier III University, focusing on ancient Egyptian royal names.

According to Al-Ahram Weekly, El-Anany was director of the Open Learning Centre, head of the tourism guidance department, vice-dean for education and student affairs and a professor of Egyptology.

He is also an associate scientific expert and member of the board of administration at the French Institute of Oriental Archaeology in Cairo (IFAO) and a visiting professor at Montpellier III. He has lectured in France and Switzerland.

Minister of Manpower - Mohamed Safaan

Mohamed Saafan is a veteran petroleum sector figure who has served as the head of the state-owned Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Co (ECHEM), one of the country’s main companies.

Safaan is also known for his trade union work. He has chaired the General Trade Union for Petroleum Workers (GTUPW)since late 2012 and served as vice president of the Egyptian Trade Union Federation.

The 61-year-old, who started out as an accountant at a petroleum firm, is said to have enjoyed good ties with Prime Minister Sherif Ismail, who also hails from the petroleum industry.

Minister of Water Resources - Mohamed Abdel-Ati

Abdel-Ati, who is replacing minister Hossam Moghazi, worked at the World Bank of Egypt prior to his appointment.

He also worked as the head of Egypt's water sector in September 2011.

Media reports suggest that he has been chosen to this ministry due to his good relations with Sudanese and Ethiopian officials, as he headed the technical office between the eastern Nile countries (Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia).

He also served as the head of the projects department at the National Bank of Egypt since 2009.

The unresolved issue of Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam and stalled tripartite negotiations remains the largest challenge facing the new minister.

Minister of the Public Business Sector - Ashraf El-Sharkawy

El-Sharkawy has contributed to a number of significant legislations and financial regulations since he served as a senior advisor for the chairman of the Egyptian Capital Market Authority for six years.

He was named as head of Egypt’s financial regulator authority EFSA during the turbulent times that followed January 2011 uprising.

In March 2011 he oversaw the resumption of trading on Egypt's stock exchange, which was forced to close due to public unrest.

El-Sharkawy graduated from the Faculty of Commerce at Cairo University in 1981.

According to the official website of public lender Banque Misr, of which El-Sharkawy was a board member, he chaired the audit committee of the Central Bank of Egypt and has more than 30 years of academic and professional experience in the fields of investment, accounting, banking and finance.

The recently sworn-in minister will take responsibility for eight state holding companies with 125 subsidiaries operated by investment ministry since 2004.

El-Sharkawy is replacing investment minister Ashraf Salman, who said that the public business sector posted total profits of EGP 2.1 billion in the first seven months of the current fiscal year 2015/16.

Tourism Minister -- Mohamed Yehia Rashed

Rashed graduated from the Faculty of Tourism and Hotel Management at Helwan University in 1984, and worked as chief leading officer at the Egyptian tourism unit of renowned Kuwaiti Conglomerate Al-Kharafi from 2009 up until his appointment as minister yesterday.

In a 2009 interview with UK travel publication Buying Business Travel, Rashed said he worked for Marriott International for 33 years in the US, Europe and Africa.

In 1997, he was named as the general manager for the Paris Marriott in the Champs-Élysées, and in 2004 he moved to Amsterdam to manage the city's three Marriot international hotels. 

Rashed’s challenge is to reinvigorate the tourism sector, one of Egypt’s main foreign currency sources, which has been ailing since the 2011 uprising and the political unrest that followed drove away tourists and investors.

Egypt’s revenues from tourism registered $6.1 billion in 2015, a more than 50 percent decline compared with 2010, which saw $12.5 billion.

 

The sector suffered a number of setbacks in 2015, with one of the worst being the crash of a Russian airliner in Sinai last year, which claimed 224 lives.Rashed graduated from the Faculty of Tourism and Hotel Management at Helwan University in 1984 and worked as chief leading officer at the Egyptian tourism unit of renowned Kuwaiti Conglomerate Al-Kharafi.

 

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