Egypt's new cabinet was sworn in Thursday. More than half of the ministers have been changed, including the foreign, finance and trade ministers, and some of those removed were appointed by former president Hosni Mubarak.
Most of the new names were decided last week. The swearing-in was delayed after Prime Minister Essam Sharaf was hospitalized Monday as he tried to complete his new ministerial line-up. He left hospital later that day after his condition was declared stable.
The swearing-in was due to take place at midday Thursday but was delayed further as Sharaf finalized appointments to the communications and trade ministries, cabinet sources told Reuters. Mahmoud Eissa was named trade and industry minister and Mohamed Salem took the communications portfolio.
The new ministers, including Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr, took the oath of office in the presence of Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, head of the ruling military council, official news agency MENA said.
The new cabinet comes amid demands from protesters camped out in Cairo's Tahrir Square for faster political and economic reforms.
