Egyptian military rulers appointed Thursday (March 3) Essam Sharaf as the first post-Hosni Mubarak prime minister, replacing Ahmed Shafiq, who was appointed by Mubarak during the dying days of his regime, The Associated Press reports.
“I am here to draw my legitimacy from you,” Sharaf told tens of thousands in Tahrir Square on Friday (March 4), The New York Times reports. “You are the ones to whom legitimacy belongs.”
Sharaf met candidates for the posts of minister of foreign affairs and justice on Sunday (March 6), the the state news agency reported, according to Reuters. Nabil Elaraby, a former judge in the International Court of Justice, was tipped to become head of the ministry of foreign affairs.
Meanwhile, Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) have urged the U.S. government to help Egypt transition to democratic rule, ABC News reports.
