PAKISTAN: Plucked from Citibank in New York to become finance minister after a 1999 military coup in Pakistan, Mr Shaukat Aziz (55) is just days away from becoming the Asian country's 23rd prime minister.
The urbane former banker got a taste of the challenges ahead when he narrowly escaped an assassination attempt that killed his driver and eight others as he campaigned for a seat in the lower house of parliament last month. Undeterred, Mr Aziz won his seat on Wednesday by a big margin, clearing the way to take the top job next week.
His financial acumen will be an advantage in running a country wracked by poverty, but his most serious challenge will be combating the Islamic militancy that President Pervez Musharraf says threatens to destroy Pakistan.
Colleagues say Mr Aziz has shown his leadership qualities by turning round an economy that was virtually bankrupt when Gen Musharraf seized power in 1999.
But analysts say ultimate power will remain in Gen Musharraf's hands, while political affairs will be managed by Mr Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, filling in as a temporary prime minister since June.
Mr Aziz was born in Karachi after his family migrated from India's Punjab state at the time of the sub-continent's partition in 1947. - (Reuters)