This development, announced by Lt. Col. Amr Imam, comes days after former Prime Minister Essam Sharaf and his government quit en masse, and days before parliamentary elections on November 28 that Egypt's military rulers vowed will go on despite ongoing unrest.

Ganzouri, who was Egypt's prime minister between 1996 and 1999 under President Hosni Mubarak, could not be reached to confirm his appointment.

He met on November 25with Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, field marshal of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces and Egypt's dominant force since Mubarak's ouster in February, according to the state-run MENA news agency.

Ganzouri would remain prime minister until at least January 10, when results of the parliamentary elections are finalized, said Aly Hassan, a judicial consultant.

After that, Parliament would have to back Ganzouri for him to remain in the position.

Protesters remained massed in Cairo's Tahrir Square, angry at the political transition process and the military rulers.

The situation there appeared relatively calm after soldiers erected barbed wire barricades to separate protesters from police.