Egyptian Cabinet Reshuffled; Riad, Sidky, Marei, Gomaa Four New Deputy Premiers

Egyptian Premier Mahmoud Fawzi has reshuffled the 32-man Egyptian cabinet, adding four new Deputy Premiers and severing seven members of the preceding cabinet of the late President Gamal Abdel Nasser. The Deputy Premiers-designate are Mahmoud Riad, 53-year-old Foreign Minister, who will oversee all foreign affairs matters; Dr. Aziz Sidky, 50, a Harvard graduate and Minister of Industry, Petroleum and Mineral Wealth, who will supervise industrial production and the Ministries of Economy, Planning, Electric Power and Treasury; Sayed Marei, 57, Minister of Agriculture, who will handle the Ministries of Irrigation and Land Reclamation plus all agricultural matters; and Sharaway Gomaa, 50, Minister of the Interior, who will supervise public services, including transportation, health care and education.

Chosen as liaisons between President Sadat and the cabinet were Sami Sharaf, a former aide to President Nasser, to be Minister of Presidential Affairs; Mohammed Hafez Ismail, ex-intelligence chief, who will coordinate ministry affairs; and Dr. Ahmed Esmat Abdel Meguid, Ambassador to France, who will effect the Premier’s decisions. Also named by Dr. Fawzi were Hassan al-Badawi. Minister of Justice; Badr Eddin Ahmed Ghazy, Culture; Helmy el-Said, Electric Power; Abdel Latif Boltia, Labor; Saad Zayed, Housing and Utilities; Hassan el-Tohamy, Tourism; Hamdi Ashour, Internal Trade and Mohammed Abdullah Marzaban, Economy. The designations must be approved by President Anwar Sadat. All are believed to be in their 40s or early 50s, whereas Premier Fawzi was 70 on Sept. 19. (Premier Sadat will be 52 on Christmas Day.) The new cabinet members were reported chosen for administrative skills, not ideology.