Cairo: Egyptian President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi on Thursday swore in Nadia Abdu as the country’s first female provincial governor in modern times.
Abdu, in her sixties, has been appointed as governor of the coastal province of Beheira.
Her appointment is part of a reshuffle of provincial governors unveiled on Thursday. The shake-up included three other newcomers.
Abdu has replaced Mohammad Sultan, who has been named governor of Alexandria, Egypt’s second-biggest city.
Egypt’s incumbent government includes three women ministers.
Having graduated from the Alexandria University’s engineering school in 1965, Abdu obtained a master’s degree in the field three years later.
She served as head of the state-run Alexandria water supply company for 10 years starting form 2002.
She was elected a member of parliament in 2010 on a ticket of the then ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) of longtime President Hosni Mubarak who was forced to step down in a 2011 uprising.
In 2013, Abdu was named deputy governor of Beheira, an appointment that triggered an outcry among some locals, who accused her of being linked to the now-defunct NDP.
She kept the post for more than three years until Thursday.
Her aides call her “the Iron lady” because of what they describe as her strong personality.
Abdu is married with two children.
