CAIRO: The new interim cabinet headed by Prime Minister Essam Sharaf took its oath of office on Monday. The cabinet was nominated on Sunday and includes only three Ministers from the Mubarak era. The cabinet was sworn in by Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF). The SCAF has been in charge of the country's administration since February 11, when former president Hosni Mubarak resigned after nearly 30 years in power. Demonstrators celebrated the nomination of Essam Sharaf as new Prime Minister by the Council last Friday. Sharaf talked to the people in Tahrir Square, where a crowd of a million had gathered for the sixth “Friday of protest” since the uprising started. “If you want me, I will stay. If you do not want me, I will step down and join you”, he told the crowd. Then he led the chants, including: “Raise your head, you are Egyptian”. Ex-Minister of Transport during the Mubarak era and professor of Engineering at the American University of Cairo, Sharaf was suggested to the SCAF by a coalition of youth. Sharaf's participation in the demonstrations gained him the nickname, ‘son of the revolution.' Al-Jazeera's Ayman Mohyeldin said that the new ministers would be well received by Egyptians demanding political reforms. BM
