The Egyptian government met protesters’ latest demands by swearing in a new cabinet free of former President Hosni Mubarak’s cronies.
The new Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf (pictured addressing a crowd, above) replaced the foreign, justice and interior ministers on Sunday.
Mohamed Abdel Aziz El-Gendy was appointed justice minister to replace Mamdouh Marie, who has been widely accused of corruption.
Nabil El-Arabi, a 75-year-old former judge at the International Court of Justice at The Hague was named foreign minister and Mansour El-Essawy is the new interior minister.
New officials for the ministries of foreign affairs, oil, justice, interior, culture, civil aviation, and religious endowments were expected to be sworn in today.
The military council which has been in charge of the country since Mubarak stepped down on February 11 asked Sharaf to form a new Cabinet on March 3 after premier Ahmed Shafik resigned from his post following calls from protesters.
Mubarak resigns as leader amid widespread protests
Essam Sharaf himself was only appointed last week by the country’s Supreme Council of the Armed Forces.
In a speech in Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Friday he pledged to meet the demands for democratic change sought by protesters, and to resign if he fails.
