Mohamed ElBaradei

Mohamed ElBaradei is the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency and a leading opposition figure in Egyptian politics.  Awarded the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize alongside the IAEA for his efforts toward nuclear disarmament and promotion of safe nuclear energy, he left the agency in 2009. As head of the agency, he oversaw the search for WMDs in Iraq prior to the US invasion and the inspection of Iranian nuclear facilities to ascertain whether they possessed weapon-grade material.

After resigning from the IAEA, ElBaradei returned to Egypt, hoping to influence his country toward democracy. Among demonstrators in Tahrir Square, he was seen as a potential presidential candidate, but his detractors criticized him for political inexperience and his absence from the country while with the IAEA. In November 2011, the SCAF, led by Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, reportedly asked ElBaradei to become Prime Minister in hopes of diffusing recent tensions.

For more information, see http://bbc.in/frjQmL and http://bit.ly/sepsta.