After the coup: ElBaradei picked as new interim PM of Egypt

Military source confirms the former IAEA head will be sworn in soon.

CAIRO:

Mohamed ElBaradei has been chosen as Egypt’s new prime minister, the Tamarod campaign said on Saturday after talks with the country’s interim president.

A military source confirmed to AFP that the former head of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was to be sworn in as premier later on Saturday, three days after the army overthrew Mursi.

The official Mena news agency said ElBaradei was in talks with interim president Adly Mansour.

Tamarod (Arabic for ‘rebellion’) – which was behind the protests against Mursi – had nominated ElBaradei to represent the movement in transitional negotiations with the military. The Muslim Brotherhood heaped scorn at the appointment, saying ElBaradei was ill suited for the post. Aya Hosni, a member of Tamarod’s central committee, told AFP that “the interim president and Tamarod had agreed on Mohamed ElBaradei’s nomination as prime minister.” She said former interior minister Ahmed Gamal El Din would be in charge of security affairs and economist Ahmed al Naggar would be the new finance minister.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 7^th, 2013.