Sisi’s New Cabinet Reflects Continuity Over Change

Egyptian President Abdel Fatah el-Sisi accepted the credentials of a new cabinet on July 3, stating that its main priorities will be the economy, investments, and social services. However, some of the new cabinet ministers have a history of corruption and human rights abuses, raising questions about their willingness and ability to resolve the nation’s problems.

Sisi’s reappointment of the prime minister, Mostafa Madbouly, has elicited controversy. Under his tenure, which began in 2018, the economic conditions of ordinary Egyptians have worsened due to higher inflation rates and currency devaluation. The share of the Egyptian population that earns less than $6.85 per day this year is 68.38 percent.

The newly appointed minister of education, Mohamed Abdel Latif, has faced criticism over his alleged fake doctoral degree from the U.S.-based Cardiff City University. The New Arab, a London-based news site, reported that the school is an “unaccredited institution” that “offers fake degrees in return for money. A PhD degree costs US$10,000 as per the official website of the alleged university.”

The choice of Mohamed Shimey as minister of the public business sector has raised eyebrows as well. Until the day of his appointment, he was the CEO of Energy Cadence Company, which is owned by businessman Ibrahim al-Organi. Al-Organi’s other company, Hala Consulting and Tourism, which is tied to Egypt’s security services, charges Palestinians thousands of dollars each to aid their departure from Gaza. Before the war sparked by the Hamas attack of October 7, Gazans paid $350 to travel to Egypt. Since the conflict began, its fees have risen to $5,000 — a 14-fold increase.

Lastly, the appointment of Badr Abdelatty as foreign minister has raised concerns regarding the cabinet’s commitment to human rights. As spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs between 2013 and 2015, he defended his government’s crackdown on journalists. When he was Egypt’s ambassador to Germany from 2015 until 2019, his embassy monitored Egyptian students living in Berlin who opposed the regime. At the airport in Cairo, Egyptian security forces often harshly interrogated students traveling to Germany in order to intimidate and dissuade them from criticizing the Sisi government while abroad.

Sisi has long prevented cabinet ministers from serving in their positions for too long, hoping to avoid public frustration against individuals that would harm the regime’s image. Thus, unlike former President Hosni Mubarak’s era, Sisi’s rule is characterized by a lack of power centers outside his close circles. Under Mubarak, well-known ministers such as former Defense Minister Mohamed Hussein Tantawi held their positions for decades.

Similarly, in 2017, Sisi placed limits on the authority of judges and pushed a law that allowed him to choose the heads of judicial bodies from among several candidates. By the same token, he fired key officials who assisted him in ousting the Muslim Brotherhood, such as intelligence chief and longtime mentor General Mohamed Farid al-Tuhami in 2014 and Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim in 2015.

The reshuffling of the cabinet is mainly an attempt by Sisi at the beginning of his third term to send a message of hope to domestic constituents and boost confidence among outside observers that his regime is serious about tackling dire socioeconomic challenges. Yet his appointments appear to suggest more continuity than change.

Haisam Hassanein is an adjunct fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). For more analysis from Haisam and FDD, please subscribe HERE. Follow Haisam on X @HaisamHassanei1. Follow FDD on X @FDD. FDD is a Washington, DC-based nonpartisan research institute focusing on foreign policy and national security.