CAIRO (Update 3) - The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) appointed Kamal el-Ganzouri Friday as prime minister to form "a National Salvation Government" to replace the Cabinet which resigned this week. El-Ganzouri confirmed his appointment, saying that everything will be outlined later. However, he declined to give any details about who might be appointed in his new Cabinet. The formation of a national salvation government is one demand of protesters calling for an end to Army rule. El-Ganzouri now appears set to take on his old role at one of the most tumultuous, momentous times in modern Egyptian history. If he can put together a government, el-Ganzouri will complete a resurgence that might have seemed unlikely after he left office in 1999. Still, the fact that Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi apparently approached el-Ganzouri about the prime minister's job suggests that more than 11 years later military leaders today have a high opinion of him. He has online supporters as well, including a Facebook page with 653 "likes" and filled with comments suggesting that he is the best person to lead Egypt. Besides his economic background at a time of continued financial crisis in Egypt, el-Ganzouri would bring a wealth of government experience to the job. Starting in 1987, el-Ganzouri served as deputy prime minister. In 1996, former president Hosni Mubarak appointed him as prime minister after Atef Sedki resigned after nine years in that position. El-Ganzouri will replace Essam Sharaf, who resigned this week after nearly nine months in office amid deadly clashes between police and protesters calling for the military to immediately step down. Sharaf was criticised for being weak and beholden to the generals. The television announcement said el-Ganzouri will enjoy "authority," but did not elaborate. Later in the day, Kamal el-Ganzouri told a televised press conference that military ruler Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi had no intention of staying in power and he would not have accepted the job if that was the case. "We are here to serve our nation," said el-Ganzouri. “Field Marshal Tantawi "made it clear to me, he is no longer willing to stay in power. If he told me otherwise, I'd not have accepted to take this role," he said. El-Ganzouri said he had asked for time to form a Cabinet "that will be accepted by everyone". The development came days after Sharaf and his Cabinet quit en masse and days before parliamentary elections scheduled for Monday. "Of course, the new government cannot be formed before Monday's parliamentary elections," el-Ganzouri said. Ganzouri is to remain prime minister until at least January 10, when results of the parliamentary elections are finalised, said Aly Hassan, a judicial consultant. After that, the People's Assembly (the Lower House of the Egyptian Parliament) would have to back el-Ganzouri for him to retain the position. The Alliance of the Revolutionaries of Egypt had proposed Mohamed ElBaradei, a 2005 Nobel Peace Prize winner and a frontrunner for the presidency of Egypt, to take over as prime minister, said coalition member Mosad Ibrahim. El-Ganzouri takes the helm at a time of tremendous change, which he acknowledged in his news conference, saying that his new powers "are a lot more than I ever had ever before". In Washington, the State Department tweeted that the new government "must be empowered with real authority immediately" and that the country's transition to democracy "must continue, with elections proceeding expeditiously, and all necessary measures taken to ensure security and prevent intimidation".
