Give me a crash course in . . . the new head of al-Qaeda

What has happened?Ayman al-Zawahiri has been chosen to assume the leadership of al-Qaeda following the slaying by US naval commandos of its founder, Osama bin Laden.

Who is Zawahiri?He is an Egyptian eye surgeon born in Cairo on June 19th, 1951, into a privileged family of scholars and medical professionals. When he was a schoolboy, he formed a cell devoted to overthrowing Egypt's secular government and creating an Islamic state. That cell joined similar ones to form Gamaa Jihad, or the Holy War Group, which became Egyptian Islamic Jihad, led for many years by Zawahiri. It eventually merged with al-Qaeda. After the assassination of Egyptian president Anwar Sadat in 1981, Zawahiri and hundreds of other militants were rounded up, tortured and imprisoned. He was acquitted of involvement in the murder but was jailed for three years for illegal possession of weapons. It reportedly made him a bitter, hard man.

What are his objectives?Although Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was overthrown earlier this year, Zawahiri says he remains committed to the goal of transforming Egypt into an Islamic state, by violent means if necessary, unlike many of Egypt's radical fundamentalists who say they wish to achieve this end through democratic means. He is also determined to wage a global jihad against western powers occupying or intervening in the Muslim world. After his wife and two of their children were killed by US bombs in Afghanistan in 2001, he pledged to kill US citizens wherever they are found.

What kind of organisation does he inherit?Since its devastating attacks on New York and Washington in 2001, al-Qaeda's core group has become a dysfunctional organisation. It lost its funding when bin Laden was disinherited by his wealthy Saudi clan and has been diminished by the arrest, death or desertion of members. Its offshoots in Yemen and north Africa are more vigorous than al-Qaeda's central command, which is under military pressure in Afghanistan and Pakistan and compelled to operate from secret locations.

What was his relationship to Osama bin Laden?As a doctor working in Saudi Arabia, he treated mujahideen who had been wounded in Afghanistan. He met bin Laden either in Jeddah or during visits to Afghanistan. A dedicated ideologue and efficient logistics officer, Zawahiri eventually became bin Laden's right-hand man and presumed successor.

How will he differ from bin Laden?Unlike bin Laden, Zawahiri is not a charismatic personality capable of maintaining unity in a disparate multinational organisation. He is truculent, arrogant, intemperate and demanding. These qualities reportedly made al-Qaeda's leadership think twice about elevating him to the top job and explain why six weeks passed before his appointment. But he is the best man to restructure al-Qaeda and to mount a major operation. He has long been a bogeyman for the US, which put a $25 million (€17 million) price on his head.

Should we fear him?Yes. As a strategic planner of al-Qaeda's successful attacks on two US embassies in Africa in 1998, a US warship off the coast of Yemen in 2000, and the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in 2001, he is a man to be watched and feared.