Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has named 17 people as members of his presidential committee and other four as assistants, presidency spokesman Yasser Ali announced Monday.This committee will act as consultative staff for the president, Ali said, adding that these 17 members are just the first part of the committee which will include more in the coming days. Among the 17 on the consultant team, Essam Eddin Mohamed is the temporary head of the Muslim Brotherhoods FJP, and Mohamed Selim al-Awa, a former presidential candidate. The four assistants include Pakinam el-Sharqawi, a professor of political science at Cairo University, who will become Morsis assistant for political affairs, and Coptic thinker Samir Morkos, the assistant for democratic transition. Meanwhile, Essam el-Haddad, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) Foreign Relations Committee Officer, will assist Morsi in foreign relations affairs and international cooperation, as Emad Abdel Ghafour, head of the Salafists Nour Party, was named assistant for relations with civil society.
