CAIRO - Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq named a moderate, Western-educated engineer the country's new Minister of Culture on Tuesday night. The appointment makes Mohamed Abdul Moneim el-Sawi, 55, the new Culture Minister. He takes over from liberal thinker Gaber Asfour, who suddenly resigned from the Shafiq Cabinet two weeks ago under pressure from the nation's intellectuals, thinkers and writers. El-Sawi, who was in his culture centre in Cairo when he received news of his appointment, said he "highly appreciates the great trust" Premier Shafiq and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces had bestowed on him. The Minister of Culture oversees an extensive network of artistic and cultural institutes that open their doors to Egyptians and foreigners. He also advises the State on art and heritage-related matters. Following the swearing-in ceremony Tuesday evening, el-Sawi pledged that he would widen the scope of freedom of expression in new democratic Egypt, where all citizens have the right to express their opinion and view. "I will work hard on creating a more democratic environment, where every Egyptian can exercise his or her right of expressing their views freely," el-Sawi said. He is an expert on arts and holding events at his El-Sawi Culture Centre in Cairo which has been a rallying point for Egyptian and foreign intellectuals and artists, who gave valuable lectures, as well as musical and theatrical performances. Viewed as a moderate intellectual who has encouraged cultural dialogue with Western countries, el-Sawi has been outwardly criticised by some of the Ministry's senior officials, saying that they deserved the post. In the meantime, el-Sawi faces an uphill battle to put the Ministry into order after veteran minister Farouq Hosni was sacked late last month by Shafiq. The employees want el-Sawi to restructure their pay scale and change the Ministry's discourse under the current political conditions. He will now head the overall Ministry, which has cultural institutions across Egypt, and holds artistic events in countries across the world. It receives most of its funding from the public treasury. Given that this is a military-backed appointment, no radical swerves in the Ministry's policy are expected. El-Sawi is viewed as having relatively liberal views on issues such as films but had been criticised by some for toeing the new government's line. Friends told The Gazette that the new Minister was a "moderate" with "enlightened views." "I am aware that the Ministry's discourse is in dire need of a review," Ahmed Megahed, the head of the cultural palaces' directorate, said.
