Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is Dead, His Brutal Legacy Remains

Former President Hosni Mubarak, whose political reign was brought to a forceful end in February 2011, passed away at the ripe age of 91 on Tuesday, leaving behind an authoritarian legacy which persists in Egypt despite years of bloody popular protests and cries for revolution.

Regional leaders including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Palestine have all expressed their condolences towards the deceased former President, highlighting the presence that Mubarak had left on their countries.

After being charged with corruption and murder and his health later deteriorated, Mubarak spent much of his final years between military and prison hospitals.

After being charged with corruption and murder and his health later deteriorated, Mubarak spent much of his final years between military and prison hospitals. He was rushed into intensive care days before he was pronounced dead.

His last public appearance took place in October 2019 for a YouTube video in which he reminisced of his service for Egypt in the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.

Born in the village of Kafr al-Musaliha in the Nile Delta, Mubarak assumed a military background like his two predecessors Gamal Abdul Nasser and Anwar Sadat, serving as a career officer in Egypt’s air force. He was a fighter pilot in Egypt’s Free Officers movement which toppled the British-backed monarchy in 1952, ushering in a future of military rule.

He took an unexpected step into the presidency of Egypt in 1981 after Sadat was assassinated, following a low-profile role as Vice President. Yet Mubarak established a seemingly unshakeable regime. Ruling with an iron fist, he crushed any significant dissent, and even survived multiple assassination attempts. There was increasing opposition towards him in the 1990s, including from militant Islamist factions and the Muslim Brotherhood through parliamentary candidates.

Having extended his security apparatus under the pretext of combatting Islamist extremism, he created a state of emergency in which his security forces conducted random arrests and imposed harsh restrictions on human rights. Countless cases of torture occurred, in which even dogs were used on prisoners. Military officers also carried out sexual assault on protestors during a 2005 demonstration.

Though representing a government of security and stability, Mubarak’s regime was highly rigid. There were limited and largely uninspiring economic reforms, as many Egyptians endured dire poverty; many were living on as little as $1.50 a day. Meanwhile political organizing was banned, as revealed in the fruitless 2005 presidential elections which created a façade of democracy amid US pressure for democratization. Yet Mubarak still had a firm grip on the reins of power in Cairo.

Like Sadat, he had secured the United States’ favor by serving as a committed western ally and upholding support for the 1979 peace treaty with Israel, which in Washington’s eyes lessened the urgency for significant reforms.

Like Sadat, he had secured the United States’ favor by serving as a committed western ally and upholding support for the 1979 peace treaty with Israel, which in Washington’s eyes lessened the urgency for significant reforms.

After Tunisia was hit with protests in December 2010, inspired Egyptians unleashed their long-standing grievances towards Mubarak’s reign, and mass demonstrations erupted across the country. Egyptians called for Mubarak to step down, seeking freedom from authoritarian rule and better livelihoods.

Mubarak’s forces tried to repress the uprisings, killing over 800 protestors and wounding more than 6000 during the 18 days of demonstrations. But, eventually, he was forced into a state of panic as the revolution had overwhelmed his regime. Though he offered constitutional reform in a desperate bid to appease the opposition, protestors rejected it and pushed on, demanding that Mubarak be held accountable for corruption and the murdering of protestors. He was arrested on these charges and sentenced to life in 2012, though he was later pardoned for his crimes.

However, as Mubarak was forced from power, the shadow military government which had propped him up had operated from behind the scenes and secretly called the shots, as it still does today, operating like a mafia force. Mubarak had handed power to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) after stepping down. They, in turn, launched a counterrevolution in July 2013 against Mohammad Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood government, which was democratically elected the previous year.

Abuses like mass torture and arbitrary detention are still a daily reality for many Egyptians, who feel that nothing has improved after Mubarak’s ousting – and, if anything, things have only gotten worse.

The oppression and neglect of Mubarak’s era has only increased following the Egyptian revolution, which has all but failed as Egypt’s current President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has tightened his grip on the country, amid an echoing Western silence. Abuses like mass torture and arbitrary detention are still a daily reality for many Egyptians, who feel that nothing has improved after Mubarak’s ousting – and, if anything, things have only gotten worse.