Mohammed Hussein Tantawi heads the military council which has been exercising power on an interim basis since President Hosni Mubarak stepped down in response to a popular uprising in February 2011.
Mr Tantawi has vowed to return Egypt to civilian rule |
The council has set a tight timetable for a return to civilian rule. In March, Egyptians approved a set of constitutional changes aimed at allowing the country to move quickly to new elections.
It is hoped that a parliamentary election can be held as early as September, and a presidential vote soon after. The rapid agenda has been criticised by some in the opposition for allowing too little time for new democratic parties to organise.
Born in 1935, Mr Tantawi has been a career army officer since 1956, experiencing active service in the Suez crisis of 1956, the 1967 Six-Day War with Israel and the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.
Mr Tantawi has held the post of commander-in-chief of the armed forces since 1991. Before the 2011 revolution he was also defence minister.
He is closely identified with the Mubarak era, but gained some credit with the pro-democracy campaign for refusing to fire on protestors.
Prime Minister: Essam Sharaf
President: Muhammad Hosni Mubarak (resigned)
Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's longest-serving ruler since Muhammad Ali in the early 19th century and one of the longest-serving leaders in the Arab world, stepped down in February 2011 after 30 years in power and handed control to the army.
President Mubarak has pursued economic, but not political reform |
He was responding to weeks of street protests, which began in January 2011, only days after the president of Tunisia fled a popular uprising.
In April 2011, he was arrested along with his two sons, Ala and Gamal, on suspicion of corruption during his rule as president. He reportedly suffered a heart attack during interrogation.
Mr Mubarak was charged with ordering violence against protestors during the uprising and went on trial in August.
Mr Mubarak won a fifth consecutive term in presidential elections in September 2005. The poll was the first under a new system that allows multiple candidates to stand, but the main opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, was banned from open political activity and could not field a candidate.
Mr Mubarak succeeded Anwar Sadat, who was assassinated in 1981. He pursued friendly relations with the West, breaking the isolation imposed on Egypt by Arab countries opposed to peace with Israel.
Since 1952, when army officers led by Gamal Abdel Nasser overthrew the monarchy, Egyptian leaders have been drawn from the military.
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