Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has appointed Major General Hassan Mahmoud Rashad as the new head of the country’s influential General Intelligence Agency. On Wednesday, Sisi named the outgoing chief, Abbas Kamel, as an adviser to the presidency after leading the agency since 2018.
The General Intelligence Agency has played a pivotal role under Sisi’s leadership, particularly in handling critical foreign policy matters such as conflicts in Gaza, Sudan, and Libya, as well as addressing domestic security issues linked to Egypt’s ongoing crackdown on political dissent.
Rashad, who previously served as Kamel’s deputy, had already been involved in managing important foreign relations matters, including Egypt’s recent efforts to improve ties with Iran, according to two security sources. The exact impact of this leadership change is unclear, but Kamel has been a trusted advisor to Sisi, regularly representing Egypt in meetings with senior foreign leaders and at high-level summits. Kamel was also frequently dispatched abroad as Sisi’s envoy.
Kamel, 68, joined the intelligence agency in 2018 after a career in military intelligence and serving as Sisi’s office director. Recently, Kamel requested to delegate some of his responsibilities due to health issues, according to security sources.
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Negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire, which Egypt has been mediating alongside the U.S. and Qatar, have been spearheaded by another senior intelligence official and supervised by Kamel.
A presidential statement, accompanied by photos, showed Rashad meeting Sisi and Kamel and taking an oath before the president. Rashad is a graduate of Cairo’s Military Technical College, a well-known training ground for intelligence leaders in Egypt.
