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 10am local time.
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, the Deputy Minister to the President, the Shipping Deputy Minister to the President, the Tourism Deputy Minister to the President, the Deputy Minister to the President for Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, the Deputy Minister to the President for Social Welfare, the Deputy Minister to the President of 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 from the President of the Republic, starting with the Commissioner for the Presidency, followed by the Commissioner for the Environment, the Commissioner for the Citizen, the Commissioner for Gender Equality, and the Commissioner for the Development of Mountain Communities.
After the ceremony, the President of the Republic, accompanied by the Director of Protocol, the members of the Council of Ministers, the appointed officials, and the Commissioners, will proceed to the statue of the late Archbishop Makarios III, in the courtyard of the Presidential Palace, where the President of the Republic will lay a wreath.
Subsequently, the President of the Republic, together with all the newly appointed officials, will enter the Presidential Palace for commemorative photographs.
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 relevant ministries and offices to receive their portfolio from the outgoing officials.
SOURCE: CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY