| Muḥammad Ḥusnī Sayyid Mubārak (Arabic: محمد حسني سيد مبارك,; born May 4, 1928) is an Egyptian military man, politician and statesman. Hosni Mubarak was President of Egypt from 1981 to 2011.
Hosni Mubarak was appointed Vice-President of Egypt after a long service in the Egyptian Air Force. In accordance with the Constitution, he became President of Egypt after President Sadat was assassinated during a military parade on October 6, 1981. On February 11, 2011, Hosni Mubarak resigned from the post of President due to the revolution in Egypt and transferred power to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces.
Biography:
Army career:
Hosni Mubarak was born on May 4, 1928 in a small village of Kafr-El-Meselha, Monufia Governorate in the Nile Delta. His father owned a small amount of land and at the same time worked in the legal administration of the province. In 1949, he graduated from the Egyptian Military Academy and received the rank of Lieutenant at the end of his education.
In 1950, Hosni Mubarak joined the Air Force Academy in Belbeis, where he earned a bachelor's degree in Aviation Sciences. In 1952, he was selected to serve in a fighter plane squadron and was soon transferred to bomber aviation. For several years he worked as an instructor in the Air Force Academy. Hosni Mubarak participated in the 1956 Suez War.
During 1959 - 1960, Hosni Mubarak studied in the Soviet Union, trained on the bomber Il-28 in the air force training regiment in the town of Kant, 20 km from the city of Frunze. There, he received training on the heavy bomber Tu-16. In 1962-1963, he participated in the civil war in Yemen as part of the Egyptian contingent and commanded a bomber squadron.
During the period from March 1964 to April 1965, Hosni Mubarak underwent a staff training course at Frunze Military Academy in Moscow as a member of the Egyptian military delegation.
In 1969, President Gamal Abdel Nasser appointed Hosni Mubarak as Chief of Staff of the Egyptian Air Force. In 1972, he was appointed Commander of the Air Force and the Deputy Defense Minister of Egypt and the following year, he was made Air Chief Marshal.
Vice-President:
In April 1975, President Anwar El Sadat appointed Hosni Mubarak as Vice-President of the country. The National Democratic Party was founded in August 1978 with Hosni Mubarak as Vice-Chairman. In January 1981, Hosni Mubarak became the General Secretary of the National Democratic Party.
President of the country:
On October 6, 1981, Anwar El Sadat was assassinated by Islamists during a military parade. Since Hosni Mubarak was near Anwar El Sadat, he was wounded in the arm and only 10cm separated him from death. On October 14, Hosni Mubarak became President of Egypt and immediately ordered a state of emergency in the country.
Immediately after his appointment, Hosni Mubarak introduced a series of measures to fight corruption. Many relatives and close-aides of Anwar El Sadat, some senior government officials were prosecuted.
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During the years as President of Egypt, Mubarak became one of the famous state leaders in the Middle East. Since coming to power in a country, which was in isolation from the Arab world, Western Europe and socialist camps, conflicts with all neighbouring countries, Hosni Mubarak managed to restore Egypt's stand in the international arena. Twice (in 1989 and 1993) he was elected Chairperson of the Organization of African Unity. Diplomatic relations with all Arab countries were restored.
The referendum to extend the Presidency of Hosni Mubarak for another six years was held on September 26, 1999 in Egypt. His candidature was supported by 93.79 % votes and thus, he retained the President ship.
In 2005, amendments to the Constitution were approved, owing to which the parties got the right to nominate candidates for the post of President. For the first time, elections were conducted under the new system on September 7, 2005. As expected, Hosni Mubarak won the election. However, the legitimacy of these elections is under a question mark because numerous violations were registered.
Resignation:
In the evening of February 10, 2011, Hosni Mubarak, due to civil commotion, transferred some Presidential powers to Vice-President Omar Suleiman, as reported in a televised address to nation.
In the evening of February 11, 2011, Hosni Mubarak left for Sharm el-Sheikh and finally resigned as President of Egypt, handing over the powers to the Supreme Council of Armed Forces.
Behavioral peculiarities:
Earlier, Hosni Mubarak used to appear occasionally at military events in uniform but in the last years of his Presidency, he always wore civilian clothes.
Family:
In 1978, Hosni Mubarak married Suzanne Thabet. The couple has two sons - Alaa and Gamal.
Hosni Mubarak's grandson and son of Alaa, 12 year-old Muhammad died in mid-May 2009.
Awards, honors and monuments:
Hosni Mubarak was awarded the highest Egyptian Order of the "Military Honor Star"(1973), the" Star of Sinai "(1973),"The Necklace of the Nile "(1974) and other orders and medals of Egypt. Hosni Mubarak received almost all the awards during his military service. For his 30 years as President, Hosni Mubarak received only commemorative marks and awards from foreign countries.
Hosni Mubarak is a laureate of the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding.
He is an Honorary Doctor of Moscow State Institute of International Relations (University).
In 2007, Hosni Mubarak's monument was erected in the Azerbaijan town of Xirdalan. |
The fourth Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, resigned on February 11, 2011 amidst massive and violent protests in Egypt, ceding power to the military. Mubarak, 82, ruled Egypt for 30 years, which is longer than most pharaohs. Since he escaped from Cairo on Friday, his location is undisclosed, which gave grounds to many rumors about his persona - ranging from "he is in coma" to "he left the country and is now in Switzerland". Mubarak's spokesperson said that Hosni is not in coma, just under stress, and is taking his time to relax in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. No staff at the resort could confirm this information though.
