A chargé d'affaires will oversee the responsibilities of the US ambassador to Egypt until the appointment of a new ambassador to replace Anne Patterson, who leaves the country on Friday, Ahram Arabic Website reported on Thursday.
The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs received a telegram from the US State Department on Tuesday stating that Patterson had finished her term as US ambassador to Cairo.
Ahram Online, citing the Ahram Arabic website, published on Wednesday the name of a possible candidate. The Arabic website later retracted the news saying no candidates had yet been selected.
Last month, Ambassador Robert Ford was tipped for the job, but his nomination was condemned by numerous political and revolutionary figures in Egypt.
Ambassador Anne Patterson was appointed as US ambassador to Cairo in June 2011. In July 2013, she was accused by opponents of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi of being biased towards the Muslim Brotherhood.
