Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. New Egyptian PM Designate Addresses Protesters VOA News March 04, 2011 A man reads a local newspaper at Tahrir Square in Cairo March 3, 2011 Photo: REUTERS A man reads a local newspaper at Tahrir Square in Cairo March 3, 2011 Thousands of people have gathered in Cairo's Tahrir (Liberation) Square to hear new Prime Minister-designate Essam Sharaf address them for the first time. Protesters have been gathering in the square each Friday to call for political reform. The protests led to President Hosni Mubarak's resignation last month. Thursday the military, which has assumed temporary control of the government, appointed Sharaf as prime minister just hours after his predecessor Ahmed Shafiq stepped down. A statement from the military said Sharaf has been asked to form a caretaker government. Demonstrators said gatherings will still take place Friday to press for political and economic change. But one of the largest activist groups said Friday's protest - which had been dubbed a "Day of Determination" - would be re-named a "Day of Celebration." The former prime minister's resignation was a key demand of protesters involved in the 18-day uprising that led to ex-President Hosni Mubarak's resignation. The new prime minister, Sharaf, served in Mubarak's Cabinet for 18 months in 2004 and 2005 and is viewed as one of the few officials with significant government experience but untainted by ties to the ousted regime. The new prime minister endeared himself to pro-democracy youth groups by visiting them in Tahrir Square, the uprising's epicenter. He had become one of their most popular candidates to replace Shafiq.  Follow our Middle East reports on [1]Twitter and discuss them on our [2]Facebook page. References 1. http://twitter.com/VOAMidEast 2. http://www.facebook.com/pages/VOAMiddleEastVoices/124360240958667? v=wall .