Links: , , , , , On Wednesday October 14, 1981, former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak read took the Oath of Office for the Egyptian Presidency. In attendance were Sudanese President Gaafar Nomeiry and the president of the People's Assembly, Sofy Abu Taleb. Mubarak's rule began with a referendum – 98.46 percent of Egyptians voted for Mubarak as the new president of Egypt. No one expected Mubarak's reign to last 30 years or to end dramatically. On Friday February 11, 2011, then-Vice President Omar Suleiman announced Mubarak's resignation and transfer of power to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF). Omar Suleiman was the first and last vice president to Mubarak in 30 years. Suleiman lasted for only 12 days. Mubarak said he was against the idea of vice president because he couldn't find the right man. Mubarak rose to the presidency of Egypt after the assassination of former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. October 6, 1981 and February 11, 2011 were the longest days in Mubarak's life. He was an authority in Egypt for 36 years, first as vice president in 1975 and then as president of the biggest Arabic country on 1981. Mubarak said in an interview with the broadcaster Emad Adeeb that he expected to be appointed as an Ambassador in London, but was surprised when Sadat chose him to be vice president. Mubarak was luckier than some ex- and former Arab leaders. His regime wasn't forcibly eradicated by invasion, like Saddam Hussein in Iraq. He wasn't murdered, like Khaled in Saudi Arabia and he didn't have cancer like King Hussein. Mubarak appeared to be a legend and was described as a turtle. He received a turtle on his birthday and was told that it will live for 300 years. To which he replied: “We'll see.” Mubarak didn't meet with former Field Marshal Abdel Hakim Amer to challenge him. His talents seemed to be ignoring problems. He was a man without regional or historical ambitions, and who didn't like history and politics. Mubarak was a unique dictator: he didn't stage publicly brutal or bloody crackdowns prompting international outrage and he maintained a close strategic relationship with the United States. When other Arab dictators made mistakes he always said, “I warned you.” He remained as silent as snake's skin. Only Ramses the Second and some Pharaohs had longer reigns than Mubarak. Mubarak made no war decisions, but he managed to thwart all internal attempts on his life. He appeared tough without being cruel. He wasn't ambitious for power like Abdel Nasser or fond of propaganda like Al Sadat. He didn't allow any others to use politics in a fashion that threatened his authority. Many thought he was stupid, but this long period proved cunning political savvy. He maintained Egypt's regional role and kept the country in the good graces with the Western world. After becoming a president, Mubarak presented his policies to Egyptians. With tears in his eyes, he said, “I didn't expect to stand here after Sadat but it's my fate to stand before you now.” The ousted president is a burden on Egypt, but his being brought to trial is a first – and now a precedent – for the Arab region. Mubarak reportedly does not read newspapers or follow-up on television about the criticism of his rule. Mubarak apparently didn't learn anything from Anwar Al Sadat – who refused to read newspapers or listen to the radio because he believed they were the reason former president Gamal Abdel Nasser's death. Sadat preferred to read summaries of reports and make decisions based on them. Mubarak stopped reading newspapers like Sadat and believed only the reports. He believed he would continue his presidency even after the revolution in Tunisia. But he didn't believe that his supporters would turn against him. He succeeded in maintaining his regime for 30 years but it collapsed in 18 days, leaving half the population in poverty and a third suffering with illness. These people weren't mentioned in his reports; however he continued to believe in his genius. Perhaps Mubarak will now have the time to read what he missed in the newspapers and fully understand his situation as an ousted president. We'll present 30 years, year after year, to retell the story. Before Mubarak became president, he logged six years as vice president, however he refused to appoint a vice president for himself. His opponents explained that his reasons for such a refusal rested in the assassination of Sadat. Mubarak's first day in authority began on September 5, 1981. On Tuesday October 6, 1981, Egypt experienced stress and tension after September's arrests, which included around 3,000 prisoners. In an October 5 interview with German magazine Der Speigel, the former president Anwar Al Sadat said, “My biggest hope is to step down and lead only the party, and leave the power to someone who is much younger than me. Hosni Mubarak knows my thoughts and can definitely express my opinion, as he spent a long time in politics and authority,” After breakfast, Sadat called his son Gamal in America and his friends Othman Ahmed Othman and Sayed Maraay. He also called his vice president, the minister of the Interior, the director of general intelligence and general secretary of the National Party. Then he found Vice President Mubarak and the Minister of Defense Mohamed Abdel Halim Abu Ghazala awaiting him. They headed to the military parade and put flowers on grave of “The Unknown soldier.” During the military parade, Sadat was talking with Mubarak, on his right, and Abu Ghazala, on his left, about organizing a celebration on April 25, 1982. But during the aircraft show, Khaled El Eslamboly and his accomplices shot Sadat on the podium. A helicopter carried Sadat to a military hospital in Maadi. There was also a military vehicle that carried Mubarak to the hospital. While Mubarak watched Sadat die, the former president's wife, Gehan Al Sadat, told Mubarak, “Please take care of Egypt and rule the country's affairs.” Mubarak replied, “Don't say that.” He hurried back home to Heliopolis and changed from his military suit to a dark suit to attend a government meeting. The meeting didn't exceed half an hour and the ministers nominated Mubarak as the next president of Egypt. Mubarak told May newspaper on October 18, 1981, “When I knew Sadat died, I immediately thought to step down – I didn't want to take this responsibility and president Sadat knew that. I told him before many times that I didn't want to continue in my position if he stepped down. But I thought about Egypt and the dangers facing it. So I convened the ministers' council to choose someone to be the next president. They held a meeting at the political office of the National Party and insisted that I be the next president. They said that they believe that I could save the security and stability of Egypt.” “I'm choked up that I can't speak to mourn the militant leader and hero, Anwar Al Sadat,” said Mubarak as he mourned the slain leader. On October 18, during the Al Adha feast, El Gehad members attacked Ali Al-Sarif, the directorate of security in Asyut, and seized a Central Security car and weapons and killed both officers and soldiers. The Security forces were able to control the situation. Essam Derbala, the group leader, Abdel Maged, and Karam Zaher were injured. The rest of the group was arrested according to a plan executed by the assistant Minister of Interior, Hassan Abu Basha. Basha became the Interior Minister after Al Nabawy Ismail and he re-structured the State Security Investigation. And after few days, former Lt. Col. Aboud El Zomor and 302 members of El Gehad group were arrested. On October 10, Mubarak attended Sadat's funeral with former U.S. Presidents Carter, Ford and Nixon as well as the Sudanese president Gaafar El Nomeiry – the only Arabic president who participated in the funeral. All Arab countries cut relations with Egypt after the Camp David peace treaty. Mubarak sought to satisfy his opponents after the assassination. He set political prisoners free after Sadat's assassination. In February 1982, Mubarak called his economists for an economic summit to discuss the state of the economy. They met, discussed and made recommendations, but this was the last time Mubarak met with his experts. On April 15, 1982 Atta Tayel Hemida Rahil, Abdel Hamid Abdel Salam and Mohamed Abdel Salam Farag were all executed. Lieutenant Khaled El Eslamboly and Sergeant Hussein Abbas were also transferred from military prison to the Square of Fire, where soldiers executed them. On April 25, 1982, Mubarak raised the Egyptian flag over the Sinai Peninsula after winning it back from Israel. Sinai was occupied by Israel for 15 years. He allowed all newspapers to write, and broadcasters who were against Sadat – like Mahmoud Al Saadany and Mahmoud Amin –returned back again. Al-Ahaly and Al-Shaab newspapers began publishing again after Sadat's detentions of Helmy Morad, Fathy Radwan, Salah Essa, Galal Amin, Ismail Sabry and Foad Morsy expired under Mubarak. Mubarak maintained Sadat's government, the National Party and the People's and Shura Assemblies for three years. Foad Mohy El Din remained the Prime Minister and General Secretary of the National Party. Mubarak only changed the Interior Minister by appointing Hassan Abu Basha. The Ministry of the Interior saw the most changes under Mubarak. Early in Mubarak's reign, Egyptians believed he wasn't intelligent enough to be president and claimed he didn't understand politics. They pointed out that Gamal was a Socialist, Sadat was malignant and Mubarak didn't have merit. After Sadat's assassination, a joke circulated claiming that when Mubarak was certain that Sadat had died, he entered a bathroom and sang “I Became the President.” Mubarak continued to rule Egypt for three decades. He started with horror on the podium and ended with the horror of the strongest revolution on January 25, 2011 – a popular people's movement that ousted him.
