Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi (R) during a meeting with new intelligence chief Khaled Fawzy (M) and his deputy Mohamed Tarek Abdel Ghany (L), Cairo, Egypt, December 21, 2014 (Photo: Egyptian Presidency)
Egypt's intelligence chief Mohamed Farid El-Tohamy has been removed and his deputy appointed as acting head in his place, the Egyptian presidency has said.
Khaled Fawzy, replacing Tohamy, has headed the country's National Security Authority, an arm of the General Intelligence Service (GIS). He was sworn in as "caretaker" chief Sunday afternoon, state-run news agency MENA reported.
El-Tohamy served as director of GIS since 5 July 2013, when he was appointed by Interim President Adly Mansour following the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi amid mass protests against his one-year rule.
A presidential decree said Tohamy was retired and that the "First Class Order of the Republic" was bestowed on him.
A source at the Egyptian presidency told Al-Ahram Arabic news website the powerful intelligence chief had been relieved of his post for health reasons and that the decision was not motivated by security concerns.
El-Tohamy, 67, was head of Egypt's military intelligence under long-time autocrat Hosni Mubarak, where he was superior to now President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, who in 2010 chaired the body.
El-Tohamy later headed a key state financial supervisory body, the Administrative Control Authority, from 2004 until he was removed in late 2012 by Mubarak's successor, Morsi.
Short link: