Ahmed Mohamed Shafik Zaki (, ; born 25 November 1941) is an Egyptian politician and former presidential candidate. He was a senior commander in the Egyptian Air Force and later served as Prime Minister of Egypt from 29 January 2011 to 3 March 2011 under Hosni Mubarak. After a career as a fighter pilot, and squadron, wing and group 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 29 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%. 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, being 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 1962 at the age of 21 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 PhD 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 Mig-19 and Mig-21 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.