Protesters had to wait another four hours after the end of the official deadline given by the army to see their demands met and ex-President Mohamed Morsy removed.
The demonstrators in squares across Egypt listened attentively to Defence Minister General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as he delivered his speech in which he said that the armed forces could not ignore the calls of the people who called on the military to play its patriotic role.
Finally, Sisi made the announcement that the head of the Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) Adly Mansour will lead the country in a new transitional period until a new president is elected. Mansour will have the power to issue constitutional declarations in the meantime.
Mansour, who was sworn in as Egypt's president late Thursday morning, will be the second temporary president in the history of Egypt after one–time parliamentary speaker Sufi Abu Taleb (from 4 November 1978 to 1 February 1983) filled the post in the wake of the assassination of former President Anwar Sadat in 1981. His presidency lasted only eight days from 6 to 14 October until a referendum on the presidential candidacy of former President Hosni Mubarak was held.
Mansour, born on 23 December 1945, will become president just two days after he became the head of the SCC. His predecessor Maher al-Beheiry retired on 30 June.
For 22 years, the president of the republic appointed the head of the SCC until the Law on the Supreme Constitutional Court was amended in 2011 to state that the head of the body should be appointed from inside the court itself with the approval of the SCC's general assembly.
Mansour, who previously held the position of first deputy of the SCC, issued important rulings, such as the ruling ordering preliminary control on the presidential election law which led to the unconstitutionality of two articles of the election law.
Mansour holds a bachelor of arts from Cairo University's Law School. Three years before the 1973 October war, he was appointed a deputy at the State Council. He climbed the career ladder until he became the State Council's vice president.
Mansour worked in Saudi Arabia as a legal adviser for the Trade Ministry from 14 December 1983 to 19 April 1995.
Mansour was a member of fatwa and legislation departments for the presidency and governorates, as well as for the foreign, education and justice ministries of education. In 1992, he was appointed deputy head of the SCC besides providing legal advivce to several state ministries.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
