Mubarak, Egypt’s autocrat ousted in uprising, dies at 91
— Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian leader who was the autocratic face of stability in the Middle East for nearly 30 years before being forced from power in an Arab Spring uprising, died Tuesday, state-run TV announced. He was 91.
Mubarak was a stalwart U.S. ally, a bulwark against Islamic militancy and guardian of Egypt’s peace with Israel. But to the hundreds of thousands of young Egyptians who rallied for 18 days of unprecedented street protests in Cairo’s Tahrir Square and elsewhere in 2011, Mubarak was a latter-day pharaoh and a symbol of autocratic misrule.
His overthrow, however, plunged the country into years of chaos and uncertainty, and set up a power struggle between the military and the Muslim Brotherhood group that he had long outlawed. Some two and a half years after Mubarak’s ouster, Abdel Fattah el-Sissi led the military overthrow of Egypt’s first freely elected president and rolled back freedoms gained in the 2011 uprising.
State TV said Mubarak died at a Cairo hospital where he had undergone an unspecified surgery. The report said he had health complications but offered no other details. One of his sons, Alaa, announced over the weekend that the former president was in an intensive care after undergoing surgery.
El-Sissi offered condolences and praised Mubarak’s service during the 1973 war with Israel but made no mention of Mubarak’s almost three-decade rule as president of the most populous Arab state. He announced three days of national mourning beginning Wednesday.
“The Presidency mourns with great sorrow the former President of the Republic, Mr. Mohammed Hosni Mubarak,” he said in a statement. It referred to Mubarak as “one of the leaders and heroes of the glorious October war, as he assumed command of the Air Force during the war that restored dignity and pride to the Arab nation.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed “deep sorrow” over Mubarak’s death. “President Mubarak, a personal friend of mine, was a leader who guided his people to peace and security, to peace with Israel,” Netanyahu said.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Mubarak “spent his life serving his homeland and the issues of righteousness and justice in the world, with the issue of our Palestinian people at the top of them.”
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the United Arab Emirates also released statements offering condolences and mourning Mubarak.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Gutteres sent condolences to the government and Mubarak’s family, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. Guterres said Mubarak “played an important role in diplomatic efforts throughout the Middle East, including in promoting peace between Israelis and Palestinians and supporting the endeavors by the League of Arab States to end conflict in the region.”
Born in May 1928, Mubarak was vice president on Oct. 6, 1981, when his mentor, President Anwar Sadat, was assassinated by Islamic extremists while reviewing a military parade. Seated next to Sadat, Mubarak escaped with a minor hand injury as gunmen sprayed the reviewing stand with bullets. Eight days later, the brawny former air force commander was sworn in as president, promising continuity and order.
Over the next three decades, as the region was convulsed by one crisis after another, Mubarak was seen as a steady hand and a reliable U.S. partner against Islamic extremism. He sent troops as part of the U.S.-led coalition in the 1990-1991 Gulf war and contributed to efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Within Egypt he presided over slow but steady economic growth and largely kept the country out of armed conflicts after decades of war with Israel. Unlike his predecessors, both Sadat and Egypt’s towering nationalist leader Gamal Abdel Nasser, Mubarak pursued no grand ideology beyond stability and economic development.
Over the years, Mubarak tinkered with reform but shunned major change, presenting himself as Egypt’s sole protection against Islamic militancy and sectarian division. The U.S., particularly under President George W. Bush, pressed for democratic reforms but was wary of alienating a key ally.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo extended condolences and said the U.S. will continue to work with the current government “to develop a better partnership with Egypt.”
Under Mubarak, the Muslim Brotherhood was banned but largely tolerated. All political power, however, was concentrated in the hands of Mubarak and his ruling party, and emergency laws imposed after Sadat’s assassination remained in place for decades.