Ahmed Shafik Ahmed Mohamed Shafik Zaki ( , ; born 25 November 1941 ) is an Egyptian politician and a former candidate for the presidency of Egypt . He was a senior commander in the Egyptian Air Force and later served as Prime Minister of Egypt from 31 January 2011 to 3 March 2011 . After a career as a fighter pilot , and squadron , wing and base commander , Shafik was the Commander of the Egyptian Air Force from 1996 to 2002 , reaching the rank of air marshal . Thereafter he served in the government as Minister of Civil Aviation from 2002 to 2011 . He was appointed as prime minister by President Hosni Mubarak on 31 January 2011 in response to the 2011 Egyptian Revolution , making him the last prime minister to serve as part of Mubarak ' s administration . He remained in office for only one month , resigning on 3 March 2011 , one day after a contentious talk show confrontation in which Alaa Al Aswany , a prominent Egyptian novelist , accused him of being a Mubarak regime holdover . He narrowly lost out in the 2012 Egyptian presidential elections to Mohamed Morsi , the candidate of the Freedom and Justice Party , gaining 48 . 27 % of the vote , compared to Morsi ' s 51 . 73 % . In September 2012 , Morsi ' s government issued an arrest warrant for Shafik . Early life and education . Shafik was born in the Heliopolis district of Cairo on 25 November 1941 . His parents were prominent members of Egyptian society with his father , Mohamed Shafiq Zaki , serving as undersecretary at the ministry of irrigation and his mother , Naja Alwi , was the daughter of a noted ophthalmologist . After completing his schooling at the Heliopolis Secondary School , he attended the Egyptian Air Academy from where he graduated in 1961 at the age of 20 and became a member of the Egyptian Air Force ( EAF ) . Later in his career , he gained a Master ' s Degree in military science ; a Fellowship of High War College from Nasser Military Academy ; a Fellowship of Combined Arms from the High War College in Paris ; a Fellowship of the National Defense College from Nasser Military Academy ; and a Ph . D . in " The National Strategy of Outer - Space " . Air Marshal Ahmed Shafik received the highest medals and merits during his service . Military career . As a young officer , Shafik served as a fighter pilot and was later appointed as fighter air squadron commander . During the War of Attrition ( 1967 – 1970 ) , Shafik saw active service as the Multi - Task Airwing Commander . Subsequently he took up a post as an air base commander . During the 1973 October War , Shafik was a senior fighter pilot under Hosni Mubarak ' s command . It was claimed that Shafik shot down two Israeli aircraft during the war on 14 October 1973 . During his 40 years of service in the Egyptian Air Force as a fighter pilot , he flew several types of fighter jets including the Mikoyan - Gurevich MiG - 17 , Mikoyan - Gurevich MiG - 19 , Mikoyan - Gurevich MiG - 21 and the Dassault Mirage 2000 ; he also acted as the wing commander for the Egyptian Air Force acrobatic team . He is also fully qualified on the American - built McDonnell Douglas F - 4 Phantom II and the General Dynamics F - 16 Fighting Falcon . In 1984 , Shafik was appointed military attaché in the Egyptian Embassy in Rome . He continued in this role until 1986 . From 1988 to 1991 , Shafik served several military senior command positions before he was appointed as the Commander of the Air Operations Department . In September 1991 , Shafik was appointed as the Air Force ' s Chief of Staff , holding this position until April 1996 , when he became Commander of the Egyptian Air Force . In 2002 after resigning from the military service , he was appointed as minister of civil aviation and was succeeded by his chief - of - staff Air Marshal Magdy Galal Sharawi . Political career . Shafiq became the Minister of Civil Aviation on 18 September 2002 . Whilst he was the minister for civil aviation , he oversaw improvements in EgyptAir and helped construct a new third terminal at Cairo International Airport which was completed in 2008 and opened for commercial operations on 27 April 2009 . He continued the position until succeeding Ahmed Nazif as the Prime Minister of Egypt on the 31st of January 2011 . During the course of the Egyptian Revolution of 2011 , Shafik was named prime minister by then president Hosni Mubarak on 29 January 2011 . Shafik ' s period in office as prime minister was short - lived , lasting just over a month , after he resigned on 3 March due to pressure from protestors and the opposition . They had objected to Shafik staying on as PM , having been seen as one of Mubarak ' s old guard . Shafik was alleged to have been a member of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces that took over power after Mubarak ' s departure on 11 February 2011 . Shafik was succeeded by Essam Sharaf after he stepped down . Shafik resigned afrom office one day after a contentious interview on the Egyptian ONTV satellite network in which he was confronted by Alaa Al Aswany , author of " The Yacoubian Building " , on Reem Maged ' s talk show Baladna bel Masry . Al Aswany was highly critical of Shafik during the broadcast , representing one of the first televised public criticisms of a high - ranking government official in Egyptian history . At one point , Al Aswany said about Shafik , " if your son had been one of those who got run over by the police cars , you would not have remained silent like that . " Al Aswany furthermore accused Shafik of being a holdover of the regime that Egyptians had struggled to topple , and that he was unfit to represent Egyptians in the post - revolution era . On 10 July , Shafik made his first public appearance since resigning as prime minister . He attended the graduation ceremony of the Egyptian Air Force Academy class along with the Chief of Staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces . Egyptian presidential election , 2012 . In November 2011 , Shafik announced his candidacy in the Egyptian presidential elections . Shafik ' s candidacy sparked controversy and protest within Egypt , with many considering him to be a holdover of the Mubarak regime . Shafik ' s remark that he considers former president Hosni Mubarak to be a " role model " was particularly controversial . At one campaign event , a protester hurled shoes at him , although Shafik was not struck . Shafik ' s candidacy was noted as supported by many in Egypt ' s Coptic Christian minority who are opposed to Islamist candidates in the election . Along with the Muslim Brotherhood ' s Freedom and Justice Party candidate Mohamed Morsi , Shafik was one of two candidates who survived the first round of voting on 23 – 24 May , coming in behind Morsi . The second and final round of voting was held on 16 – 17 June 2012 . Allegations have arisen that the interior ministry handed out over 900 , 000 ID cards to Egyptian soldiers so that they could vote for Shafik , which would be a major campaign violation . Fellow presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabahi , who finished in third place in the first round of voting , asked for the Egyptian election to be temporarily suspended until an investigation could be carried out . On 28 May 2012 , protesters angry at Shafik ' s advancement to the second round of voting set fire to an office associated with his campaign in Cairo . Fellow candidate Khaled Ali said while participating in a protest against the election results in Tahrir Square that Tahrir had “ toppled Mubarak , and would topple Shafik ” . The election contest between Shafik and Morsi had been described as a " choice between two of Egypt ' s most polarizing politicians " , and some activists resorted to participation in a hunger strike to protest his candidacy . Shafik ' s presidential campaign was characterized by an emphasis on public order and security , and although the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces did not endorse a candidate , American news outlet McClatchy Newspapers pointed to the " conspicuous presence of sympathetic security forces at his campaign stops " as evidence of his close relationship with the military . Shafik used his campaign events to court Egyptian elites and voters wary of an Islamist - led government . He reportedly suggested that he would employ executions and " brutal force " to restore order in the country within a month of taking office . Although preliminary election results indicated that the Muslim Brotherhood ' s candidate Mohamed Morsi won the second round of elections by a slight margin , the results remained within the margin of error and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces , with Shafik claiming victory in the election . On 24 June , the High Presidential Electoral Commission , headed by Farouk Sultan , announced Shafik ' s narrow defeat by his bitter rival Morsi , with 48 . 27 % of the vote for the former , compared to Morsi ' s 51 . 73 % . In the hours following his defeat , it was widely reported that Shafiq and his family flew out to Abu Dhabi , wary of potential charges of financial irregularities and electoral fraud , a move he later confirmed on Sky News . Shafik alleged that the election was flawed ; Public Prosecutor Abdel Meguid Mahmoud has called for an investigation into the claims . Launch of new political party . Ahmed Shafiq announced that he would launch a new political party on 24 September 2012 , called the Egyptian Patriotic Movement . References .