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A
THE IMPRESSIVE
mili–
tary parade passed the
reviewing stand in Caí–
ro last October 6, a
man little known outside his
native Egypt sat at Anwar
Sadat's right hand.
Hosni Mubarak, 53, had been
Egypt's Vice President since
1975, yet few Westerners had
ever heard his name. Even with–
in Egypt Mr. Mubarak was
something of an enigma. A
powerful and influential person–
ality, he worked in relative
obscurity, behind the scenes–
in the shadow of Anwar Sadat.
As the fatal bullets tore into the
reviewing stand, Hosni
Mubarak's obscurity
carne to an abrupt and
unexpected end. Anwar
Sadat's protégé and
handpicked successor
was forced out of the
shadows and catapulted into
Egypt's highest office. The eyes of
the world fell upon him.
Who is Hosni Mubarak? What
chain of events has led him to the
pinnacle of Egypt's political pyra–
mid?
War Hero
President Mubarak was
born in 1928 in Egypt's
poor Nile delta province of
Menoufia, the same northern
province where Anwar Sadat had
been born 1
O
years earlier.
At the age of 20, Mr. Mubarak
graduated from the Military
Academy of Cairo. He then
entered the Air Force Academy,
where he trained as a pilot.
Mr. Mubarak first met Anwar
Sadat in the early 1950s at a mili–
tary base in El Arish, on the Sinai
Peninsula's Mediterranean coast.
Mr. Sadat was impressed by the
young air force officer, and jotted
down his name in a notebook for
future reference.
Mr. Mubarak subsequently
trained as a bomber pilot in the
Soviet Union. At that time, under
President Gama! Abdel Nasser,
Egypt's principal military support
carne from the Kremlin. He also
Feb
lllf'l
1982
by
Keith W. Stump
Egypt is destined to play an
important role in future
Middle East events. Here is
a close-up look at the new
leader of that ancient land.
taught at Egypt's Air Force Acade–
my, eventually becoming íts direc–
tor in 1967.
In 1969 Mr. Mubarak was pro–
moted to the rank of general after
having been named Air Force chief
of staff by President Nasser.
Three years later, Mr. Sadat, hav–
ing succeeded Nasser as president,
remembered Hosni Mubarak's name
from their brief meeting sorne two
decades earlier. President Sadat
appointed General Mubarak air
force commander and deputy war
minister. In that capacity, he set
about completely reorganizing
Egypt's air force.
lt was General Mubarak's role in
planning the air battle against Israel
in the October, 1973, Mideast war
that won him full admittance into
President Sadat's inner circle. The
surprise air attack master-minded by
General Mubarak had enabled
Egyptian ground forces to success–
fully storm across the Suez Canal.
j
Those initial victories in the
Q
October War restored Egypt ' s
dignity and self-respect that had
been severely shaken in the Six–
Day War of 1967. General Muba–
rak's role- " He worked wonders,"
President Sadat de-
K
clared-earned him
the rank of air marshal
and membersbip in the
"October Generation"
of confident and capa–
ble Egyptian leaders
prepared to deal with the Israelis
on an equal basis.
Vice Presidency
Two years later, in April, 1975,
Anwar Sadat (in his own words)
"asked General Mubarak to
abandon his military uni–
form, don civilian clothes,
and assist me as Vice Presi–
dent." As such, he became
Sadat's political hejr.
No one in Egypt was more sur–
prised at this development than Gen–
eral Mubarak himself.
President Sadat confided to him:
"l need a Vice President who will
share with me state responsibilities
at all levels. No one can foresee the
future, and state secrets must not be
known by one person alone." 1t was
time, President Sadat felt, that the
leaders of the 1952 revolution who
overthrew the monarchy began to
turn responsibilities over to the
October Generation.
During his tenure as Vice Presi–
dent, the stocky, square-faced
Mubarak exceeded President Sa–
dat's highest expectations. He
became increasingly responsible for
the day-to-day running of the coun–
try. Administrative problems were
delegated to him, freeing President
5