Former President of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, who ruled his country for a period of 30 years before he was forced to step down on February 11, 2011 following the January 25 Revolution, has passed away at 91.
Before becoming president, Mubarak was the commander of the Egyptian Air Force between 1972-1975.
He assumed presidency following the assassination of former President Anwar al-Sadat, who appointed him Vice-President
Mubarak’s reign was characterised by an emergency law that gave authorities the power to conduct random arrests and heavily impeded human rights.
He also expanded Egypt’s Central Security Forces and State Security Investigations Service, which were used as tools to oppress political opposition, particularly Islamic fundamentalists.
Due to his stance against Islamists and his close ties with the United States, Mubarak was subject to several assassination attempts, namely one in 1995 when he was attending the African Union summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
In 2005, Mubarak was under pressure from the United States to encourage democracy, so he allowed for other presidential candidates to run for the post, which he won by a landslide, and the runner-up, Ayman Nour, was imprisoned on forgery charges widely believed to have been trumped up.
During his 30 years as president, he never appointed a vice president until January 29, 2011 when he appointed former Chief of Intelligence Omar Suleiman in an attempt to appease protesters.
It was Suleiman who announced Mubarak’s resignation in February 2011.
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