Twenty-seven governors including 21 new ones swore oath Thursday before President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi.
CAIRO – 31 August 2018: Twenty-seven governors including 21 new ones swore oath Thursday before President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, with only five governors staying in their posts and one keeping his title as governor but of a different governorate.
Among Egypt’s 27 governorates that comprise more than 90 million citizens, the population in some of these governorates exceeds 5 million citizens in each of them. Seemingly challengeable, all the governorates with such populations have chosen new governors to resume national efforts.
Egypt Today displays information about the governors in charge of the largest eight governorates in terms of population, all of them with either security or academic background.
Cairo (3,085 square kilometers)
Major General Khaled Abdel Aal was chosen to succeed Atef Abdel Hamid as governor of the country's capital with a population of over 9.6 million people.
The new governor served as assistant Interior Minister for Cairo Security department. He had also served as Cairo's Chief of Security until he retired a few days ago.
He has been known for his dedication to the war Egypt has launched against terrorism since the ousting of the former Muslim Brotherhood regime in 2013.
"There are no compromises and no leniency when it comes to dealing with terrorists and their supporters," Abdel Aal said in an interview with Egypt Today following a terrorist attack that took place in Helwan last December.
Abdel Aal graduated from the Police Academy in 1979. Since then, he worked in a number of security posts, including the chief of the electricity police.
The new governor has been known for his humanitarian contributions. On the other hand, Abdel Aal has reportedly launched raids that targeted criminals' hideouts.
Giza (13,184 square kilometers)
Ahmed Rashed al-Eteify swore the oath before Sisi as the governor of the second governorate with a population of over 8.7 million people inhabiting its districts.
Eteify succeeded Mohamed Kamal al-Daly who took office in 2015.
He worked as the chief of the General Department of Administrative Affairs in the Ministry of Interior. In 2015, during former Interior Minister Magdi Abdel Ghaffar's term, Eteify was appointed as an assistant Interior Minister.
State-owned Akhbar al-Youm reported that a meeting between Eteify and the former governor would be held to discuss the major problems in the governorate and the projects under construction.
Sharqia (4,911 square kilometers)
Professor Mamdouh al-Sayed Ghorab, 54, was chosen to succeed Major General Khaled Saeed as Al-Sharqia’s governor. Over 7.2 million people inhibit the governorate.
Ghorab received his Bachelor's degree in pharmacy from Cairo University. He also has a Master’s in the same field, completed in 1991, and a Ph.D. that was received three years later.
From 2007 to 2014, Ghorab served in several posts including dean of the pharmacy faculty of the Suez Canal University and then as head of the university.
Dakahlia (3,538 square kilometers)
Dakahlia's Mansoura is going to receive the governorate's new head, Kamal Gad Sharobim, on Saturday to succeed Ahmed al-Shaarawi. Dakahlia is inhabited by more than 6.5 million individuals.
In an interview with Egypt Today, Sharobim outlined his priorities, saying that he will address humble citizens and the price hike from which these citizens are suffering. He said that he would look for opening more markets including mobile markets and new outlets selling products with competitive prices.
Sharobim is a civil engineer who graduated in 1978 from Assiut University. He has a Ph.D. from Japan's Hiroshima University, obtained in 1990.
He participated in establishing a number of national and international projects and has conducted about 55 scientific researches, according to media reports.
Sharobim served as the Vice President of Suez Canal University for community service and environmental development.
In 2000, he obtained an award from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), for being part of the team in charge of designing the New Alexandria Library national project. He is also a member of the Egyptian Code of Practice for FRP and material construction committee, according to Suez Canal University.
Beheira (9,826 square kilometer)
Major General Hisham Abdel Ghani was chosen to succeed engineer Nadia Abdo as the governor of the coastal governorate of al-Beheira with a population exceeding 6.2 million citizens.
Abdel Ghani, 56, served as the head of a rocket artillery company. He was also the assistant chief of the Republican Guards, and the chief of the Red Sea governorate's city of el-Qoseir.
Abdel Ghani was awarded a number of national medals including the Medal of Long Service and Good Example, the January 25th Medal, and the golden Medal of Military Duty.
Qalyubia (1,124 square kilometers)
Professor Alaa Abdel Halim has succeeded Mahmoud Ashmawi as the governor of the Greater Cairo's Qalyubia with a population of about 5.7 million.
Abdel Halim is a surgeon. He graduated from Cairo University in 1985.
He served in a number of high level administrative posts in the field of medicine, including dean of the faculty of medicine in Beni Suef University, and deputy head of the university for the environmental development and society service affairs.
In his first statement as governor, Abdel Halim said that Qalyubia governorate needs better care, adding that President Sisi and Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly have stressed on the necessity to improve services inside the governorate, and solve the problems people are facing, including issues related to water and sanitation services.
Minya (32,279 square kilometers)
Qassem Hussein Qassem succeeded Essam al-Bedewi as the governor of Upper Egypt governorate of Minya. Minya has a population of over 5.6 million.
Leaving office, the former governor described Qassem as an amazing person who likes serving his country, according to media reports.
Qassem served in a number of significant security posts including working in the Interior Ministry's State Security department. He also served as Fayoum's Chief of Security.
Minya governorate suffered from several terrorist attacks throughout its history which consequently makes security a serious challenge for Qassem. In May 2017, over 20 were reported dead in a terrorist attack that targeted a bus carrying Christians.
The Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the attack. Christians in Minya represent a considerable share of the governorate's population.
Alexandria (2,300 square kilometers)
Professor Qonsowa known for modesty was appointed as the governor of Alexandria - Press photo
Engineer Abdel Aziz Qonsowa was appointed as the governor of the Mediterranean governorate of Alexandria to succeed Mohamed Sultan. The total population of the governorate exceeds 5.2 million people.
Qonsowa has been a professor in the Faculty of Engineering in Alexandria University. He was appointed as the dean of the faculty for three years starting 2015, and was then chosen as the deputy head of Alexandria University.
He participated in a number of national water projects and received a number of awards including an award from Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority.
Legal guidelines
According to Egyptian law, governors are not elected by people. However, they are appointed or dismissed from their posts by a presidential decree.
A governor during his term cannot join the Parliament or local councils. The law however, grants governors same salaries and pensions of ministers.
The governors' terms end with the end of the presidential term they were appointed in. However, the president has the right to appoint some or all former governors again.
Governors' reshuffle
After swearing oath, the newly appointed governors and their deputies met with President Sisi, who ordered them to focus on meeting people’s needs and curbing unaffordable high prices in local markets, according to a statement issued by presidential spokesperson Basam Radi.
Khaled Fouda, governor of South Sinai governorate, Abdel Hamid al-Haggan of Qena, and Ahmed Abdullah of the Red Sea governorate will keep their posts.
Adel al-Ghadban of Port Said, and Mohamed al-Zamlout of the New Valley will also stay in their current posts.
Representing the only case in the 2018 reshuffle, Damietta governor Ismail Taha saved his title as a governor but moved to the leadership of Kafr al-Sheikh governorate.
Populations and area statistics are taken from Egypt's Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).
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