Egypt’s new caretaker president Adli Mansour has been sworn in. He had been head of the Supreme Constitutional Court for just two days when the army named him leader of the Arab world’s most populous state. Mansour came across in a nationally televised oath-taking ceremony, declaring that “I swear to preserve the system of the republic, and respect the constitution and law, and guard the people’s interests”.
He saluted the Egyptian people “for correcting on June 30 the path of this glorious revolution”, in reference to protests that saw millions take to the streets to demand the resignation of the president. He also praised the armed forces for having “always been the conscience of the nation” and “not hesitating for a moment to meet the call of the nation and people”.
Mansour is the father of three, who won a scholarship to France’s most prestigious institute of higher education, the Ecole Nationale de l’ Administration, was a long-serving judge under the regime of veteran strongman Hosni Mubarak. Mansour helped draft the supervision law for the presidential elections that brought Mursi to power in 2012, which included setting a legal timeframe for electoral campaigning. He was deputy head of the Supreme Constitutional Court from 1992.
