New government appointees take up their duties as of Wednesday

The swearing-in ceremony of the members of the new cabinet and other officials and the handover of portfolios by their predecessors takes place on Wednesday. The cabinet will also convene for the first time in a short session, under the new President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides.

The swearing-in ceremony will take place at the Events Hall of the Presidential Palace at 10 am.

During the ceremony, the Director of Protocol will call out the ministers according to the current protocol order. They are the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Finance, Minister of Interior, Minister of Defence, Minister of Education, Sports and Youth, Minister of Transport, Communications and Works, Minister of Energy, Commerce and Industry, Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Minister of Labour and Social Insurance, Minister of Justice and Public Order and Minister of Health.

After the new Ministers are sworn in, the Director of Protocol will announce the names of the Government Spokesperson, and the Deputy Minister to the President, as well as the Deputy Ministers of Shipping, Tourism, Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, Social Welfare, Culture, the Director of the Office of the President, the Deputy Government Spokesperson, and the Director of the President’s Press Office.

The Director of Protocol will then invite the Commissioners to receive their appointment, starting with the Commissioner for the Presidency, and followed by the Commissioners for the Environment, the Citizen, Gender Equality, and Development of Mountain Communities.

After the ceremony, the new president, accompanied by the new appointees, will proceed to the statue of the late Archbishop Makarios III, in the courtyard of the Presidential Palace, where he will lay a wreath.

The cabinet will then convene for the first time in a short session. After that, the new ministers, deputy ministers and commissioners will go to their respective ministries and offices to receive their portfolio from the outgoing officials and take up their duties.