Hosni Mubarak

Muhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak, محمد حسني سيد مبارك‎,  Muḥammad Ḥusnī Sayyid Mubārak; born 4 May 1928) is a former Egyptian politician and military commander. He served as the fourth President of Egypt from 1981 to 2011.

Mubarak was appointed Vice President of Egypt in 1975, and assumed the presidency on 14 October 1981, following the assassination of President Anwar El Sadat. The length of his presidency made him Egypt's longest-serving ruler since Muhammad Ali Pasha. Before he entered politics, Mubarak was a career officer in the Egyptian Air Force, serving as its commander from 1972 to 1975 and rising to the rank of air chief marshal.

Mubarak was ousted after 18 days of demonstrations during the 2011 Egyptian revolution when, on 11 February, Vice President Omar Suleiman announced that Mubarak had resigned as president and transferred authority to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. On 13 April, a prosecutor ordered Mubarak and both his sons to be detained for 15 days of questioning about allegations of corruption and abuse of power. He was then ordered to stand trial on charges of premeditated murder of peaceful protestors during the revolution. These trials officially began on the 3 August 2011. Egypt’s military prosecutors then also proclaimed that it is investigating Mubarak's role in the assassination of his predecessor Anwar Sadat.

Health,Wealth and allegations of personal corruption

In the summer of 2010, the media speculated "Egypt is on the cusp of dramatic change," because Mubarak was thought to be afflicted by cancer, and because of the scheduled 2011 presidential election. While intelligence sources suggested that he suffered from esophageal cancer, stomach or pancreatic cancer, it was denied by Egyptian authorities.Speculation about his ill health flared up with his resignation on 11 February 2011. According to Egyptian media, Mubarak's condition worsened after he went into exile in Sharm el-Sheikh. Mubarak was reportedly depressed, refused to take medications, and was slipping in and out of consciousness. According to the source, an unnamed Egyptian security official, "Mubarak wants to be left alone and die in his homeland". The source also denied that Mubarak was writing his memoirs, stating that he was in a state of almost complete unconsciousness. After his February 2011 resignation, Egypt's ambassador to the United States Sameh Shoukry reported that his personal sources said Mubarak "is possibly in somewhat of bad health", while several Egyptian and a Saudi Arabian newspapers reported that Mubarak was near death and in a coma. On 12 April 2011, it was reported that Mubarak had been hospitalized after suffering a heart attack during questioning over possible corruption charges.

In June 2011, Mubarak's lawyer Farid el-Deeb disclosed that his client "has stomach cancer, and the cancer is growing. Mubarak had undergone sugery for the condition in Germany the year prior and also suffers from circulatory problems with an irregular heart beat. On 13 July 2011, unconfirmed reports sprang up that Mubarak had slipped into a coma at his residence after giving his final speech, and four days later, on the 17th, el-Deep confirmed that Mubarak had slipped into a coma.

In February 2011, the media reported on the wealth of the Mubarak family. ABC News indicated that experts believed the personal wealth of Mubarak and his family to be between US$40 billion and $70 billion founded on military contracts made during his time as an air force officer. Britain's Guardian newspaper also reported that Mubarak and his family might be worth up to $70 billion due to corruption, kickbacks and legitimate business activities. The money was said to be spread out in various bank accounts at home and abroad, including Switzerland and Britain, and also invested in foreign property. The newspaper admitted, however, that some of the information regarding the family's wealth might be ten years old. According to Newsweek, these allegations are poorly substantiated and lack credibility. On 17 March 2011 Senator John Kerry, head of foreign relations committee of the congress, officially confirmed that the government of the United States froze assets worth $31 billion belonging to Mubarak, including property and bank accounts. John Kerry later retracted his statement saying he meant Gaddafi not Mubarak.

On 12 February 2011, the government of Switzerland announced that it was freezing the Swiss bank accounts of Mubarak and his family. On 20 February 2011, the Egyptian Prosecutor General ordered the freeze of Mubarak's assets and the assets of his wife Suzanne, his sons Alaa and Gamal Mubarak, and his daughters in law Heidi Rasekh and Khadiga Gamal. The Prosecutor General also ordered the Egyptian Foreign Minster to communicate this to other countries where Mubarak and his family could have assets. This order came two days after Egyptian newspapers reported that Mubarak filed his financial statement. The Egyptian regulations mandate government officials to submit a financial statement listing his / her total assets and sources of income during governmental work. On 21 February 2011, the Egyptian Military Council, which was temporarily given the presidential authorities following the 25 January 2011 Revolution, declared no objection to a trial of Mubarak on charges of corruption. On 23 February 2011, the Egyptian newspaper Eldostor reported that a "knowledgeable source" described the order of the Prosecutor General for freezing Mubarak's assets and the threats of a legal action as nothing but a signal for Mubarak to leave Egypt after a number of attempts were made to encourage him to leave willingly.In February 2011, Voice of America reported that Egypt's top prosecutor has ordered a travel ban and an asset freeze for former President Hosni Mubarak and his family, as he considers further action.

Political and military posts

Chairman of the Non-aligned Movement

Re-elected for a fifth term of office (2005)

Chairman of the G-15 (1998 & 2002)

Re-elected for a fourth term of office (1999)

Chairman of the Arab Summit since June (1996)

Chairman of the OAU (1993–94)

Re-elected for a third term of office (1993)

Chairman of the OAU (1989–90)

Re-elected for a second term of office (1987)

President of the National Democratic Party (1982)

President of the Republic (1981)

Vice-President of the National Democratic Party (NDP) (1979)

Vice-President of the Arab Republic of Egypt (1975)

Promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General / Air Marshal (1974)

Commander of the Air Force and Deputy Minister of Defense (1972)

Chief of Staff of the Air Force (1969)

Director of the Air Force Academy (1968)

Commander of Cairo West Air Base (1964)

Joined Frunze Military Academy, USSR (1964)

Lecturer in Air Force Academy (1952–59)

Awards

Mubarak was awarded the Jawaharlal Nehru Award in 1995.

Honor Star Medal twice.

Military Training medal.

Military Honor Medal Knight Rank from the President of Syria.

Honor Star Medal from the PLO.

Decoration of King Abdul Aziz-Excellent Degree from King Faisal Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saoud.

Hamayon Merit from Emperor Mohamed Reda Bahlawy [Muhammad Reza Phalavi, Iran].

Monument

A monument to Hosni Mubarak was erected in 2007 in Xırdalan (Azerbaijan). The Azerbaijani Musavat party called for its demolition in order to avoid idolatry. The monument was then taken down and a statue symbolising Egypt and ancient Egyptian culture was erected instead.

Public image

Mubarak is ranked 20th on Parade Magazine's 2009 World's Worst Dictators list. He, as other presidents had been before him, had frequently been the target of jokes by the Egyptian people for many years before his resignation.