Major General Abbas Kamel took the constitutional oath before President Abdel Fatah el-Sisi as the new Director of the General Intelligence Directorate on Thursday. Nasser Fahmi was sworn in as deputy head of the apparatus.
In January, Sisi designated Kamel to run the general intelligence service after the dismissal of General Khalid Fawzi.
The General Intelligence is the highest intelligence apparatus in the country and directly reports to the Egyptian presidency. The intelligence headquarters is located in the suburb of Hadayek al-Qubba, east of Cairo.
Kamel was the director of Sisi’s office and his assistant during his tenure as director of the Military Intelligence Directorate. He also served as Sisi’s office manager when the latter assumed the position of defense minister under former President Mohamed Morsi.
Following the swearing-in ceremony, Sisi met with the newly appointed intelligence chief and his deputy, according to a statement issued by the presidential spokesperson, Bassam Radi.
The president underlined the necessity to maintain intelligence efforts to protect Egypt’s security against all dangers and praised the work to preserve national security amid regional instability, according to Radi.
Egypt’s General Intelligence apparatus was established in 1954, upon a decision by former President Jamal Abdel Nasser. The institution played an important role during Egypt’s modern history.
It is an independent organ that directly reports to the Egyptian presidency, consisting of a president with the rank of minister, a vice-president with the rank of deputy minister, and a number of assistants and other employees.
Among the most important files addressed by the Egyptian intelligence service during the eighties of the last century were issues related to combating terrorism and chasing members of armed groups with a religious orientation, such as Al Qaeda.
During that period, the Egyptian intelligence built close relations with many of the world’s leading intelligence services.
