Egypt's new prime minister

Interim president Adly Mansour announced Mehlib's appointment on Tuesday, a day after Egypt's cabinet stepped down.

Mehlib, who led the country's largest construction company for more than a decade, told reporters that his cabinet members will be "holy warriors" in the service of the Egyptian people.

"We will work on restoring security and defeating terrorism," Mahlem said at a press conference in Cairo. "Continuing [Egypt's transitional] roadmap is the top priority of this government."

The new cabinet will be formed in three days, he added.

Prior to the 2011 revolution that toppled longtime dictator Hosni Mubarak, Mehlib, a former housing minister, was a senior member of the then-ruling National Democratic Party.

Clearing the way for Sissi

The resignation of el-Bablaw and the rest of Egypt's military-backed government on Monday was seen as paving the way for the country's former Defense Minister Field Marshal Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi to run for president. In order to be eligible for the presidency, Sissi had to step down from his ministry post.

Sissi orchestrated the military coup that toppled former President Mohammed Morsi, Egypt's first democratically elected leader, last July. Since then, he has gained widespread support in the country, been lavished with media praise and is widely expected to the presidency in elections slated for April under a new constitution.

A security source quoted by Reuters said Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim was likely to retain his post in a new cabinet. Ibrahim spearheaded a campaign to crack down on the Muslim Brotherhood associated with Morsi.

dr/ipj (AP, dpa, AFP)