Report says Egypt’s housing minister to form govt
26 Feb 2014 6:39 AM IST
Egypt’s outgoing housing minister Ibrahim Mahlab told state-run Al-Ahram newspaper on Tuesday that he had been asked to form a new government, Al-Ahram reported on its website.
The choice of defence minister may hold clues as to when army chief Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will announce a widely expected bid for the presidency. Sisi must vacate the post of defence minister, which he held in the outgoing cabinet, in order to run in the vote that could be held as soon as April.
Mahlab is a civil engineer who was formerly head of one of Egypt’s biggest construction firms. He was also an official in deposed President Hosni Mubarak’s National Democratic Party. Speaking to Al-Ahram after meeting interim President Adly Mansour, Mahlab said he would immediately begin consultations on appointing a new cabinet.
Beblawi’s government resigned on Monday. It took office in July after the army removed Islamist President Mohamed Morsi from power following mass protests against his rule.
During Beblawi’s tenure, the state cracked down hard on Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood. Rights groups criticised his government for crushing dissent through other moves, including a law imposing tough penalties on people who protest illegally.
Beblawi’s government received billions of dollars in aid from Gulf states hostile to the Brotherhood but was criticised by analysts for failing to take quick steps towards reforming an economy burdened by a massive state subsidy bill.
The choice of defence minister may hold clues as to when army chief Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will announce a widely expected bid for the presidency. Sisi must vacate the post of defence minister, which he held in the outgoing cabinet, in order to run in the vote that could be held as soon as April.
Mahlab is a civil engineer who was formerly head of one of Egypt’s biggest construction firms. He was also an official in deposed President Hosni Mubarak’s National Democratic Party. Speaking to Al-Ahram after meeting interim President Adly Mansour, Mahlab said he would immediately begin consultations on appointing a new cabinet.
Beblawi’s government resigned on Monday. It took office in July after the army removed Islamist President Mohamed Morsi from power following mass protests against his rule.
During Beblawi’s tenure, the state cracked down hard on Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood. Rights groups criticised his government for crushing dissent through other moves, including a law imposing tough penalties on people who protest illegally.
Beblawi’s government received billions of dollars in aid from Gulf states hostile to the Brotherhood but was criticised by analysts for failing to take quick steps towards reforming an economy burdened by a massive state subsidy bill.
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