Former Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak Dies
POLITICS DIGEST – Hosni Mubarak, Egypt’s president for almost 30 years who stepped down after a popular revolution in 2011, has died. He was 91.
State television reported on Tuesday he died weeks after undergoing surgery.
Mubarak served as Egypt’s fourth president starting in 1981 until his ouster in what became known as the Arab Spring revolution. He was jailed for years after the uprising, but was freed in 2017 after being acquitted of most charges
He was born in a rural village in the Nile Delta in 1928.
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Mubarak left behind a complicated legacy. His rule was partly characterised by corruption, police brutality, political repression, and entrenched economic problems.
He joined the Egyptian air force in 1949, graduating as a pilot the following year. He rose through the ranks to become the commander-in-chief of the Egyptian air force in 1972.
Mubarak became a national hero the following year with reports that the Egyptian air force dealt a substantial blow to Israeli forces in Sinai during the Yom Kippur War.
His harsh stance on security enabled him to maintain the peace treaty with Israel.
Under his rule, Egypt remained a key United States ally in the region – receiving $1.3bn a year in US military aid by 2011.
