Egypt's new cabinet led by Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb was sworn in today, with army chief Field Marshal Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi retaining his position as the defence minister.
Mehleb was appointed Prime Minister by interim President Adly Mansour after the surprise resignation of Hazem El-Beblawi on Monday ahead of presidential polls that are expected to bring Sisi to power.
The new premier kept 20 ministers from el-Beblawi's cabinet and appointed 11 new ones, mostly technocrats.
The new cabinet is tasked with organising the presidential election.
The interim President issued a decree on Wednesday which stated that the defence minister must be a military officer and have served in the armed forces at the rank of major general for at least five years.
Besides Sisi, the Interior Minister, who is in charge of police, was retained.
Though no date has been announced for the presidential polls, they are expected to be held by mid-April.
Sisi is widely tipped to win the poll if he stands. He has not yet announced his candidacy but media reports said he has decided to run and will make an announcement soon.
The powerful army chief, who ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in July, is required to resign from the government and the army before he can officially announce his presidential bid.
Mehleb, a former housing minister, had held a senior position in the now dissolved party of ousted president Hosni Mubarak.
Many of the outgoing cabinet's most highly recognised figures were not in the new lineup, including Hossam Eissa, who served as deputy prime minister, Kamal Abu-Eita, who was manpower minister, and finance minister Ahmed Galal.
