Egypt's Defence Minister Mohamed Hussein Tantawi  [AFP]

Hosni Mubarak has resigned as Egypt's president and transferred his powers to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. 

General Omar Suleiman, vice-president and former intelligence chief, is among the key retired or serving military officers on the council.

Others include Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, defence minister; Lt Gen Sami Anan, chief of staff of the Egyptian army; Air Marshal Ahmed Shafiq, the new prime minister.

Here are brief profiles of some of the men that make up the council:

Field Marshal Tantawi became minister of defence and commander-in-chief of the Egyptian Armed Forces in 1991. In so doing, he became the first Egyptian to hold the rank of field marshal after 1989.

Some reports suggest that Tantawi, 75, has been seen as a possible contender for the Egyptian presidency.

During the 2011 Egyptian protests, Tantawi was promoted to the ministerial rank of deputy prime minister, while retaining the defence portfolio.

Tantawi famously became the first member of government to visit Tahrir Square on February 4. He is said to have engaged military officers as well as protesters during his brief visit.

Tantawi served in three wars against Israel, starting with the 1956 Suez Crisis and the 1967 and 1973 Middle East wars.

Air Marshal Reda Mahmoud Hafez Mohamed, the air force chief, became commander of the Eastern Air Zone and then the Southern Air Zone in 2005.

On 1 July 2007 he became chief of the operations department and towards the end of the year he was appointed Air Force Chief of Staff.

Within three months he replaced Magdy Galal Sharawi as air force chief, taking up his post on 20 March 2008.

Lieutenant-General Sami Anan is the commander of 468,000 troops, and is seen as having a crucial role in co-ordinating interim arrangements for the government in Egypt.

Anan was in Washington when the uprising began and he cut short his visit to return. It was reported that the United States was pushing Anan for a key mediating role, though it was speculated that he was far too close to Mubarak to retain any role in a new government.

Some of the other members in attendance at Friday's supreme council meeting were:

Lieutenant-General Abd El Aziz Seif-Eldeen, commander of air defence and Vice-Admiral Mohab Mamish, chief of navy.