Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi Monday appointed a woman and a Christian as two of his presidential aides, while the other two are members of Islamist parties that dominated the now-dissolved parliament, DPA reported.
Prominent Coptic Christian thinker Samir Morcos will be assistant to the president on democratic transformation, presidential spokesman Yasser Ali announced.
Cairo University politics professor Pakinam al-Sharqawi is the only woman appointed as assistant to the president.
Emad Abdul-Ghaffour, head of the Salafist Nour Party, will be assistant to the president for social communication, while Essam al-Haddad, a leading member of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood and a trustee of the charity Islamic Relief Worldwide, will advise on foreign relations and international cooperation.
Morsi had previously promised to appoint a woman and a Christian among his assistants.
Ali also announced the appointment of 17 members to a presidential advisory committee, including Rafiq Habib, a Christian intellectual and vice-president of the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party.
Also among the advisers are Mohamed Selim El-Awa, an Islamist rival to Morsi in the recent presidential elections, and interim Freedom and Justice Party leader Essam al-Erian.