Egypt president appoints new prime minister

Hesham Qandil, a United States-educated technocrat was on Tuesday roped in by President Mohamed Mursi to be Egypt's first post election prime minister, who will face the task of restoring the country's socio-economic stability, hit by months of protests and uncertainty.

Qandil who was minister of water resources and irrigation, in the outgoing caretaker government, was appointed Egypt's next prime minister and was entrusted by Mursi with the task of forming a new cabinet.

He replaces Kamal Ganzouri who headed the caretaker government that oversaw elections in Egypt. Ganzouri resigned after Mursi's election as President.

"This appointment of a patriotic and independent figure comes after much study and discussion to choose a person able to manage the current scenario," said Mursi's spokesman Yassir Ali.

According to his profile on Al Ahram newspaper, Kandil, who was born in 1962, has never belonged to an Islamist group though he describes himself as a religious man.

Qandil, an engineering graduate from Cairo University, received his master's and PhD degree from Utah University in North Carolina in the US.

He joined Egypt's National Centre for water studies and was granted the state's honorary medal of the second degree in 1995.

He served as a senior irrigation engineer at the African Development Bank and was part of the Nile Basin Initiative launched in 1999 to develop the river in a cooperative manner.

The appointment came a month after Mursi assumed the office of President amid a growing power tussle with the ruling military.

Mursi had promised to appoint an independent figure as the prime minister, one who would gain approval of all political forces. He kept his promise by picking up an  political technocrat.