Egypt's Sisi appoints ex-generals as provincial governors

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi named six new provincial governors on Wednesday, five of whom held senior positions in homeland security and the military prior to their new roles.

The move is likely to further strengthen the influence of Egypt's armed forces in politics, and in turn the position of Egypt's general-turned president.

This reverses moves made by Egypt's ousted president Mohamad Morsi, who appointed civilians - some of whom were members of the Muslim Brotherhood - as provincial governors.

Through this, Morsi had gone against a decades-long trend of military men taking leading roles in Egypt's provinces.

Of the newly-filled positions, three were previously held by civilians. As it now stands, only eight of Egypt's 27 provincial governors hail from civilian backgrounds.

The new appointees include former army officer and Transport Minister Atef Abdel Hamid as governor of Cairo.

The position of governor of Egypt's capital had been vacant for six months.

Along with the six governors who were named on Wednesday, former major general Mohamed Ali el-Sheikh was also sworn in to his new role as supply minister.

Since leading the coup to overthrow Egypt's first democratically-elected president in 2013, Sisi has reasserted the dominance of Egypt's army in politics, after its power briefly came under threat during Mohamad Morsi's short-lived tenure.

Egypt's military has long been held in high esteem among the country's population, however the revolution that took place in January 2011 marked the changing tide of popular opinion against the military's firm control over politics.

Prior to this, all of Egypt's presidents, including Gamal Abdel Nasser, Anwar Sadat and Hosni Mubarak came from military backgrounds.