New Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf served as Egypt's transportation minister between 2004 and 2006.
The Cairo University engineering professor had joined the major rallies in Cairo's Tahrir Square, endearing him to many youth protesters. The 18 days of protests led to the ouster of Egypt's longtime president Hosni Mubarak.
Sharaf completed his bachelor's degree in civil engineering at Cairo University in 1975. He then traveled to the United States and earned both a master's degree in engineering and a doctorate at Purdue University in the state of Indiana.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.
