Egyptian statesman and president (1981 ), born in al-Minufiyah, NE Egypt. A former pilot and flying instructor who rose to become commander of the Egyptian Air Force, he was vice-president under Anwar Sadat from 1975 until the latter's assassination in 1981. As president he has struggled to further Egypt's economic development, to meet the threat posed by Muslim extremists, and to follow a balanced foreign policy, including adhering to the peace treaty with Israel (1979) and supporting the military coalition against Iraq during the Gulf War (1991).
Muhammad Hosni Said Mubarak|
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| 4th President of Egypt | |
|---|---|
| Incumbent | |
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In office since 14 October 1981 |
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| Preceded by | Anwar Sadat |
| Succeeded by | Incumbent |
| Born |
May 4, 1928 Kafr-El Meselha, Al Monufiyah. |
| Political party | National Democratic Party |
| Religion | Islam |
Muhammad Hosni Said Mubarak (Arabic : محمد حسنى سيد مبارك ), (born May 4, 1928) commonly known as Hosni Mubarak (Arabic: حسنى مبارك ) has been the President of Egypt since 14 October 1981.
Mubarak was appointed the Vice-President of the Republic of Egypt after moving up the ranks of the Egyptian Air Force.
As President of Egypt, he is considered to be one of the most powerful leaders in the region. Under the 1971 Constitution of Egypt, President Mubarak has exercised strong control over the country.
Biography
Mubarak was born on May 6, 1928 in "Kafr El-Meselha", Al Monufiyah Governorate, Egypt.
In the years between 1967 and 1972, during the War of Attrition between Egypt and Israel, Mubarak was appointed Director of the Air Force Academy and Chief of Staff of the Egyptian Air Force.
Following the assassination of former President Anwar Sadat by fundamentalists in 1981, Mubarak became President of the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Chairman of the National Democratic Party (NDP).
Hosni Mubarak is married to Suzanne Mubarak, and has two sons: Alaa, and Gamal.
Egypt under Mubarak
President Mubarak has been re-elected by majority votes in referenda for successive terms on four occasions: in 1987, 1993, 1999 and 2005. No one runs against the President due to a restriction in the Egyptian Constitution in which the People's Assembly plays the main role in electing the President of the Republic.
After increased domestic and international pressure for democratic reform in Egypt, on February 26, 2005 Mubarak asked the largely rubber stamp parliament to amend the constitution to allow multi-candidate presidential elections by September 2005. However, Mubarak started to lose support in Egypt in the mid-1990s. Reports have shown that Mubarak's party used government vehicles to take public employees to vote for Mubarak. On September 9, the Egyptian Electional Committee, consisting of several independent judges denied the demands of Dr. Ayman Nour and he was later given a five year jail sentence for forging signatures, a charge that Nour strongly denies.
On the day of Nour's guilty verdict and sentencing, the White House Press Secretary released the following statement denouncing the government's action:
"The United States is deeply troubled by the conviction today of Egyptian politician Ayman Nour by an Egyptian court. The conviction of Mr. Nour, the runner-up in Egypt's 2005 presidential elections, calls into question Egypt's commitment to democracy, freedom, and the rule of law. The United States calls upon the Egyptian government to act under the laws of Egypt in the spirit of its professed desire for increased political openness and dialogue within Egyptian society, and out of humanitarian concern, to release Mr. Nour from detention."
Despite these reports by some observers however, a poll released by the Pew Research Center indicate that an overwhelming majority of Egyptians express confidence in Mubarak's leadership, with some 86% of those polled indicating they had either "a lot of confidence" or "some confidence" in Mubarak's leadership.Question 40, Poll
Egypt's return to the Arab League
Egypt was the only country in the history of the Arab League to be suspended from its membership due to President's Sadat's peace treaty with Israel, but it re-gained admission to the league - eight years after the 6 October 1981 assassination of Sadat - in 1989, under Mubarak.
Mubarak and corruption
A dramatic drop in support for Mubarak occurred with news that his son Alaa was favoured in government tenders and privatization. In 2005, TI's Corruption Perceptions Index report assessed Egypt with a CPI score of 3.4, based on perceptions of the degree of corruption from business people and country analysts, with 10 being highly clean and 0 being highly corrupt.
Fear of family dictatorship
As Alaa left the picture around the year 2000, Mubarak's second son Gamal started rising in the National Democratic Party and succeeded in getting a newer generation of neo-liberals into the party, and eventually the government.
Changing economic scene
In July 2004, Mubarak accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Atef Ebeid and the entire cabinet.
Wars and the monetary gain from the first Gulf war
President Mubarak spoke out against the 2003 war on Iraq, arguing that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should be tackled first. Egypt was a member of the allied coalition in the 1991 Gulf War and Egyptian foot soldiers were some of the first to land in Kuwait to evict Iraqi forces. Egypt like many other countries, was lured into the 1991 Gulf War with offers of economic aid or debt forgiveness. His reward, after the 1991 Gulf war, was that America, the Gulf states and Europe forgave Egypt around $20 billion-worth of debt, and rescheduled nearly as much again.
Being that Egyptians were some of the first to land in Kuwait, Egypt is rumored to having suffered more casualties than reported.
Mubarak and the Coptic church
Prior to Mubarak assuming the presidency, former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat ordered Shenouda III of Alexandria, the Pope of the Orthodox Coptic church into exile at the Monastery of St. Bishoi.
Twenty five years of Emergency Law rule
Recently he has come under criticism for extending Egypt's Emergency Law (the country has been under a state of emergency since ex-president Anwar El-Sadat's assassination in 1981). Groups like the Muslim Brotherhood are at risk to coming into power in Egypt if the current government does not play out the delicate balancing act of modernizing the already industrialized country and bringing Egyptian society into a state that can function as a true democracy and empower its citizens. 2000) Re-elected for a fourth term of office (1999) Chairman of the Arab Summit since June (1996) Chairman of the Organization of African Unity "OAU" (1993 - 1994) Re-elected for a third term of office (1993) Chairman of the Organization of African Unity "OAU" (1989 - 1990) 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 (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 FROUNZ Military Academy, USSR (1964) Lecturer in Air Force Academy (1952 - 1959)
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