Free Market Finance Minister Assigned in Egypt

As part of concessions made to the thousands of protesters currently camped out at Tahrir Square in Egypt’s capital Cairo yet again, the military-assigned prime minister appointed a new finance minister on Sunday, according to Egyptian media.

The finance minister, Hazem El-Beblawi, will replace Samir Radwan, who came to power in the final days of Hosni Mubarak’s rule in January. The new finance minister has been touted by news media as favorable toward free-market policies.

“Everyone, governed and governor, is subject to the rule of law, free from arbitrariness and whims.The law defines the scope and limits of activity and guarantees respect for commitments,” Beblawi said in an article quoted by Reuters.

Beblawi, who received a doctorate in economics from the University of Paris in 1964, has served as an adviser to the Arab Monetary Fund in Abu Dhabi since 2001 and as the executive secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia from 1995-2000.

The new finance minister has written several books on economics, and he is a weekly columnists for Egypt’s largest newspaper, Al-Ahram. He is also a founding member of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, which was formed after the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak.