Egypt’s House of Representatives on Tuesday approved a cabinet reshuffle in Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly’s second government, introducing ministerial mergers, redistributing powers among senior officials and removing the minister of parliamentary affairs in an unexpected move.
Lawmakers approved the reshuffle by a majority vote during a session chaired by Counselor Hisham Badawi, after hours of delay attributed by local media to objections over some nominees.
Among the most notable changes was the removal of Mahmoud Fawzy as minister of parliamentary affairs, despite widespread expectations he would remain in office. He was replaced by Counselor Hany Hanna Sedra, a former member of the Supreme Judicial Council and former assistant justice minister for international cooperation.
The reshuffle also curtailed the authority of several senior ministers. Kamel Al-Wazir was reassigned exclusively to the transport portfolio after previously holding the transport and industry ministries and serving as deputy prime minister for industrial development. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar was likewise limited to the Health Ministry, relinquishing his role as deputy prime minister for human development.
Madbouly now has a single deputy prime minister. Hussein Issa was appointed deputy prime minister for economic affairs.
Several ministries were merged as part of the overhaul. The environment portfolio was combined with local development under Manal Awad, while international cooperation was folded into the foreign affairs and expatriates ministry, headed by Badr Abdel Aaty.
The reshuffle also reinstated the Information Ministry, appointing Diaa Rashwan, head of the State Information Service, to lead it.
Other appointments included Mohamed Sayed Saleh as minister of investment and foreign trade; Abdelaziz Konsowa as minister of higher education and scientific research; Randa Ali Saleh as minister of housing, utilities and urban communities; and Raafat Hindi as minister of communications and information technology.
Salah Said Suleiman was named minister of state for military production, Mahmoud Mohamed El-Sharif as justice minister, Jihan Zaki as culture minister, Ahmed Tawfik Rostom as planning minister, Hassan Raddad as labor minister, Jawhar Nabil as youth and sports minister, and Khaled Hashem as industry minister, replacing Al-Wazir.
The reshuffle also included the appointment of two deputy foreign ministers — Mohamed Abu Bakr Saleh for African affairs and Samar Mahmoud Abdel Wahed for international cooperation — as well as two deputy housing ministers, Walid Abbas Othman for urban communities and Ahmed Omran for utilities.
The parliamentary session, originally scheduled to begin at 1 pm, was delayed by more than three hours, fueling speculation in local media that disagreements over some nominees had temporarily stalled proceedings.
