Cairo/Berlin--Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, in power for almost three decades, has handed power temporarily to his prime minister while he undergoes gallbladder surgery on Saturday in Germany, state television said. Mubarak, 81, who gave a news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday, delegated power to the prime minister in 2004 when he had back surgery in Germany. He showed no signs of frailty at Thursday's news conference. Mubarak has not said whether he will seek a sixth six-year term in the 2011 presidential election, nor has he designated a successor but many believe he will try to hand power to his politician son Gamal, 46, if he chooses not to stand again. UNDER THE KNIFE A spokeswoman for Heidelberg University Hospital, Annette Tuffs, said the operation on Mubarak had begun. "He's under the knife now," Tuffs said. Egyptian state television earlier reported that Mubarak had been suffering severe inflammation of his gallbladder. "He has issued a presidential decree delegating Ahmed Nazif presidential powers until he returns," it said. State media ran similar statements through Saturday morning. Officials in Egypt could not be reached for comment. State media said his wife and two sons including Gamal, as well as Health Minister Hatem el-Gabali, were in Heidelberg. "I think the surgery going through is a minor surgery ... It seems there is no reason to be specially concerned at this point in time," said Gamal A.G. Soltan, director of the state-backed Al Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies. He said the president had been active recently, pointing to trips around Egypt and meetings abroad, but said rumours were "understandable considering the president's age". Egypt held its first multi-candidate election in 2005, a system not in place when Mubarak took over from Anwar Sadat who was gunned down militants in 1981. Mubarak easily won the 2005 vote which rights groups said was marred by abuses. Egyptian officials said it was fair. Election rules make it almost impossible for anyone not backed by Mubarak's ruling party to stage a realistic run for the presidency, which analysts say means the next president is expected to come from the political or military establishment. While many Egyptians believe Gamal Mubarak is most likely to succeed, it is far from certain, partly because he does not have a military background like Egypt's other presidents. Omar Suleiman, Egypt's intelligence chief and a confidant of the president, has also been named a possible successor or king-maker. Analysts also say a dark-horse candidate from the military may emerge. Mubarak underwent surgery for a slipped disc at a Munich hospital in 2004, an event that sparked rumours about the succession and sent jitters through Egypt's financial markets. In 2003, he collapsed briefly during a speech to parliament. Officials said that was caused by a combination of cold medication and fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
