Egypt's newly announced cabinet reshuffle, which had been awaited for several months, involves 10 ministers and includes new faces and the merging of a number of portfolios.

Sunday's cabinet reshuffle is the first since a June 2018 shakeup saw major replacements in the vital interior and defence ministries.

The deputy ministers of telecommunications, health, civil aviation, education, petroleum, agriculture, housing, and tourism are included in the reshuffle.

Minister of Justice Omar Marwan

Marwan will leave his post as minister of parliamentary affairs, which he held since February 2017, replacing Mohamed Hossam Abdel-Rahim as justice minister. 

Marwan was assistant minister of justice for notarisation and registration authority affairs from 2011 to 2014.

In 2015, Marwan was the official spokesperson and general secretary for the Supreme Elections Committee, which supervised the most recent parliamentary elections.

His most recent post in the justice ministry was as assistant minister for the forensic authority and expert affairs.

Minister of Agriculture El-Sayed El-Qosair

El-Sayed El-Qosair has been appointed as the new minister of agriculture, replacing Ezz El-Din Abou Steit.

El-Qosair, 62, has over 30 years of experience in the banking sector. He served since 1980 in the National Bank of Egypt (NBE) and was a board member and head of the Credit Risk Administration.

He was appointed in 2016 as the CEO of the Development Bank and Agricultural Credit.

Minister of Trade and Industry Nevine Gamea

Gamea has been the executive director of Egypt's Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency (MSME) since 2017.

She was also chief of the central sector for funding small enterprises at the Social Fund for Development.

She has wide expertise in the banking sector, beginning her career at the National Bank for Development (NBD) and the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK).

She is replacing Amr Nassar, who held the post since June 2018.

Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat

Al-Mashat, like Marawan, is also seeing a shift in position, leaving her post as tourism minister for that of minister of international cooperation. The ministry, previously the ministry of investment and international cooperation, was led by Sahar Nasr. 

Al-Mashat - appointed in January 2018 - was the first woman to lead the tourism ministry.

A well-known economist in local and international circles with a wide expertise in economics and monetary policies, Al-Mashat has served as sub-governor of the Central Bank of Egypt, was a member of the stock market board and a senior advisor with the International Monetary Fund.

Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Alaa El-Din Fouad

Fouad served as the executive director of the National Elections Authority since 2017. He was the chief of an appeals court and a former member of the Judicial Inspection Unit.

Fouad is replacing Omar Marwan as minister.

Minister of Social Solidarity Niveen El-Qabbag

El-Qabbag served deputy solidarity minister since June 2018.

She was also a first assistant to the minister for social protection and development since April 2015. She held the post of advisor to the solidarity minister and head of monetary support at the ministry between 2014 and 2015.

She was responsible for the Takaful and Karama programme, a social safety net programme.

El-Qabbag is replacing Ghada Wali, who served as the minister of social solidarity since 2014, holding the position under former prime ministers Ibrahim Mehlab and Sherif Ismail, as well as the current Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly.

Wali is leaving her post to become the new director-general of the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV) and the executive director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), as announced last November.

State Minister for Information Affairs Osama Heikal

Heikal is the head of parliament's media, culture and antiquities committee and served as minister of information after the 2011 revolution.

The post is relatively new in the country, and it is not yet clear what role the ministry will serve.

The post of minister of information was abolished in June 2014 after President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi was elected.

The last person to hold the post was Doreya Sharafeddin in 2013.

Minister of Civil Aviation Mohamed Manar Ennaba 

Mohamed Manar Ennaba, an ex-pilot, led EgyptAir's Academy for Training from 2013 till 2017.

He has held a number of positions in the civil aviation ministry, where he worked at the national flagship airline as a co-pilot for a Boeing 737, a pilot of a Boeing 777, an aviation trainer, and finally a manager of operations.

From Left to Right - Khaled El-Anany, Mostafa Madbouly, Hala El-Saeed

New portfolios for incumbent ministers

The reshuffle also involves the merger of two ministries and the reassignment of a number of portfolios. The ministries of tourism and antiquities will merge under one ministry to be led by incumbent Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Anany.

This is the first time in 55 years that the ministries of antiquities and tourism have been merged into one ministry. The first time was in 1965 in the cabinet of the late Ali Sabry, when Abdel-Kader Hatem was appointed minister of tourism and antiquities as well as a deputy prime minister for culture.

The planning ministry under Hala El-Saeed is seeing the addition of an economic development portfolio. 

The investment minister's responsibilities have been delegated to incumbent Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, who has been appointed as the competent minister of investment and administrative reform.

The reshuffle did not make changes to the interior, defence, foreign affairs, finance, education, higher education, transportation, environment, health, supply, emigration, local development, or irrigation ministries.