Leading pro-democracy figure Mohamed ElBaradei sworn in as Egypt's vice president

Mohamed Elbaradei, left, meeting with interim president Adly Mansour, right, at the presidential palace.

CAIRO — Egyptian reform advocate Mohammed ElBaradei, who led the country’s main opposition group in criticism of the Muslim Brotherhood, was sworn-in today as the country’s interim vice president.

The 71-year-old former diplomat and Nobel laureate emerged as a prominent democracy advocate and later as the head of the National Salvation Front, a secular coalition of groups opposed to former President Mohammed Morsi.

According to NSF spokesman Khaled Dawoud, ElBaradei no longer heads the coalition.

“He is now a vice president for all Egyptians,” Dawoud said.

Egypt’s interim President Adly Mansour oversaw the swearing in of ElBaradei, the latest move by the country’s new leadership to push ahead with a transition plan following the military’s ouster of Morsi nearly two weeks ago.

Thousands of Morsi’s supporters, though, have vowed to continue their sit-in in Cairo until he is reinstated. They have refused to accept his ouster or the military-backed timeline for transition, which calls for changes to the constitution and new elections for parliament and president.

ElBaradei’s NSF group under Morsi was among the president’s strongest critics. The coalition stood with Defense Minister Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi as he announced Morsi’s ouster amid massive protests against his rule.

The former Egyptian diplomat to the United Nations is known internationally for his 12 years of work as head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, for which he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005.