Hosni Mubarak

Muhammad Hosni Said Mubarak (Arabic : محمد حسنى سيد مبارك ) (born May 4, 1928) commonly known as Hosni Mubarak (Arabic: ???? ????? ) has been the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt for twenty-four years, since 14 October 1981.

Egypt under Mubarak

Following the assassination of President Anwar Sadat at the hands of Islamists in 1981, Mubarak became President of the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Chairman of the National Democratic Party. President Mubarak has been re-elected by majority votes in referenda for successive terms on three occasions: in 1987, 1993, and 1999. The results of the referenda are however of questionable validity. 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. However in February 2005 Mubarak passed a constitutional amendment allowing parties directly running against the incumbent president.

Related Topics:
Anwar Sadat - Islamists - 1981 - February

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Although Mubarak's popularity grew over time and his role as a leader of the Arab World has been solidified in the 1980s and 1990s, he started to lose support in Egypt by the mid-1990s. The breakthrough economic performance of the early 1990s was wasted.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The dramatic drop in support for Mubarak increased with surfacing news about his son Alaa being extremely corrupt and favoured in government tenders and privatization. As Alaa started getting out of the picture by 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. Due to Gamal's increasing visibility and influence, rumours about him being groomed for the presidency became common. Nevertheless, this was publicly refuted by the president several times. Moreover, although the public generally likes Gamal Mubarak as a person, many believe that his succession would mean a hereditary pseudo-monarchy (see Family dictatorship).

Related Topics:
Alaa - Gamal - Monarchy - Family dictatorship

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In July 2004, Mubarak accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Atef Ebeid and the entire cabinet. Mubarak appointed Ahmed Nazif as the new Prime Minister. The new cabinet is generally viewed with optimism, and economic conditions are starting to improve considerably after a period of stagnation.

Related Topics:
Atef Ebeid - Ahmed Nazif

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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.

Related Topics:
Iraq - Israeli-Palestinian conflict - Gulf War

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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. Previously, Mubarak secured his position by having himself nominated by parliament, then confirmed without opposition in a referendum. The September 2005 ballot will therefore be a multiple candidate election rather then a referendum, but the electoral institutions, security apparatus and most of the Egyptian media remain solidly in Mubarak's hands.

Related Topics:
February 26 - 2005 - Rubber-stamp - September 2005 - Referendum

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On July 28, Mubarak announced his candidacy, as he had been widely expected to do. The election which was scheduled for September 7 involved mass rigging activities according to civil organizations that observed the elections. Reports have shown that Mubarak's party used government vehicles to take public employees to vote for Mubarak. Votes were bought for Mubarak in poor suburbs and rural areas. It was also reported that thousands of illegal votes were allowed for Mubarak from citizens who were not registered to vote. On September 8, Dr. Ayman Nour, the candidate for El-Ghad party, contested the election results and demanded a repeat of the election.

Related Topics:
July 28 - September 7 - Dr. Ayman Nour

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~