Hosni Mubarak

Hosni Mubarak was born on May 4, 1928 in Kafr-El-Meselha, Egypt. After graduating from high school, Mubarak joined the Egyptian military academy and earned his bachelor’s degree in military sciences when he was only 21 years old. Just one year later, Mubarak became a pilot officer in the Egyptian air academy, and he went on to earn his second bachelor’s degree, this time in aviation sciences. This set the stage for a career in the air force that would shape Mubarak as a man -- a career that included two years on a Spitfire squadron, a tour as an instructor, and further training in the Soviet Union. By 1967, Mubarak had climbed the ranks to become the director of the air force academy. In 1972, Mubarak reached the pinnacle of his military career when he was named chief commander of the air force and deputy minister of defense.

Hosni Mubarak Is Appointed Vice President Of Egypt

Hosni Mubarak’s swift ascension through Egypt’s political ranks continued in 1975 when former president Anwar el-Sadat appointed Mubarak vice president. Throughout his tenure, Mubarak proved to be Sadat’s greatest supporter, taking up his cause of finding peace with Israel and attending important meetings with foreign leaders. It was clear that Mubarak was to be an essential part of the Egyptian government for a long time. Just how essential -- and how soon -- not even Mubarak himself could have guessed.

Hosni Mubarak Becomes President Of Egypt

Many believed it was only a matter of time before Anwar el-Sadat’s controversial stance on Israel would lead to the fall of his presidency, but no one predicted the vicious way in which he was dispatched. While at a military parade in Cairo, Islamist gunmen who opposed peace with Israel opened fire on the group of dignitaries, killing Sadat. As a result, Mubarak became the fourth president of Egypt after winning a national referendum and pledged to respect its treaties and international commitments while preserving stability in the homeland.

Hosni Mubarak And The Road To Revolution

The scenes emanating from today’s Egypt are tragic. Cairo, once one of the world’s foremost tourist destinations, has gone from a place of peaceful protest to one of bloody revolution in mere days. According to most onlookers, President Hosni Mubarak and his refusal to step down are to blame. But how did it come to this? Surely things weren’t always this bad, were they? Believe it or not, throughout his 30-year term, Mubarak did manage to accomplish some good, despite his increasingly autocratic rule.

In 1982, Mubarak oversaw the return of the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt, one of the major provisions from the peace treaty that his country signed with Israel three years earlier. In 1988, Mubarak was elected to his second term as president, and just one year later, had Egypt re-admitted to the Arab League, after being suspended over Sadat’s decade-old peace treaty with Israel. That same year, Mubarak teamed up with leaders from Iraq, Jordan and Yemen to create a regional financial market known as the Arab Cooperation Council. A decade later, Mubarak oversaw the peace agreement in Sharm el-Sheikh, where Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak signed a hard-fought peace agreement on Israeli soil.

Hosni Mubarak And Growing Civil Unrest

Despite the headway made by Hosni Mubarak to achieve peace in the Middle East -- which also helped strengthen his bond with the United States and his reputation as an international statesman -- civil unrest continued to fester at home, as the economy grew increasingly worse under his regime. Throughout his reign, Mubarak survived a staggering six attempts on his life, most notably in 1995 after his arrival in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, when his limousine came under attack. But Mubarak quickly became known as the consummate survivor, with no one able to unseat Mubarak from his post atop the political food chain.

Make no mistake, despite recent pledges to encourage democracy in Egypt, Mubarak has continued to rule as a quasi-military leader since taking power. Under emergency law, the Mubarak government has maintained overwhelming powers of arrest and the ability to deny basic freedoms to whomever it sees fit. The president has had a tendency to squash political opponents as well. Although his first three election wins went virtually unopposed, Mubarak’s Draconian rule reached new heights during the 2005 election, which saw massive vote rigging, media censorship and control, and even the imprisonment of opposition candidate Ayman Nour, after the Ghad (which “tomorrow” in Arabic) party leader openly contested the election results. Despite the emergence of several more opposition parties -- including the Muslim Brotherhood -- Mubarak continued his stubborn ways, and in 2006 announced that he would retain his role as president for the rest of his life. By this point, it was clear that what Egypt had on their hands was not a democratic government but a full-blown dictatorship.

Hosni Mubarak And The Last Straw

It’s been no secret that Hosni Mubarak had been grooming his son, investment banker Gamal Mubarak, to succeed him, ensuring the sort of dynastic rule common in most dictatorships. Well, guess what? Egyptians had had enough of living in what had essentially become a police state. As January came to a close, the Egyptian people decided to do something about it. Thanks in part to the recent uprising in Tunisia, Egyptians took to the streets in peaceful protest. What was at first a niche group of young, middle-class social-media buffs quickly spread to all classes, particularly the lower class, who were tired of living off as little as $1 a day.

Despite overwhelming pressure from foreign leaders and from his own people, Mubarak stubbornly refused to step down. On February 1st, due in part to Obama’s urging, Mubarak announced that he would not seek reelection in the fall -- a small victory for protesters, but not nearly enough. Instead, Mubarak did his best to clog the flow of information from his country by shutting down the internet and enforcing nationwide media blackouts. But images of the protests still surfaced, and what we saw in recent days was disturbing. After a week of relatively peaceful protests, Mubarak’s supporters -- who some believe were paid off by the president himself -- clashed with protesters, riding in on camels and horseback, and violently attacking civilians. By that point, police and army presence in Cairo was next to invisible, foreigners of every ilk were being urged to leave and Mubarak was showing more resolve than ever. Clearly, this won’t end well.