Egypt's military leaders say they have chosen former Transport Minister Essam Sharaf as the new prime minister, after a holdover from ex-President Hosni Mubarak's tenure resigned.
A military statement issued on Thursday said leaders had asked Sharaf to form a caretaker government to run the country temporarily.
The resignation of Ahmed Shafiq from the post was a key demand of protesters involved in the 18-day uprising that led to Mubarak's resignation. Protesters continued to call for the removal of ministers with ties to the old regime.
Shafiq was named to the post shortly after the outbreak of massive anti-government protests in late January. Mubarak stepped down on February 11, but several of his cabinet ministers retained their posts.
Leading pro-democracy activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mohamed ElBaradei welcomed Shafiq's departure. He said on the social networking website Twitter Thursday, the move signifies that Egypt is "on the right track."
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
