Hosni Mubarak

Hosni Mubarak (4 May 1928 – 25 February 2020) was the fourth President of the Arab Republic of Egypt from 14 October 1981 to 11 February 2011, who resigned in response to the demands of the Egyptian Revolution of 2011. He was married to Suzanne Mubarak.

• We affirm our position again against terror and violence. We will continue to fight the scourge of terrorism against humanity and reject the culture of extremism and violence in any form or shape, from whatever source or place, regardless of justifications or motives, being fully aware of their danger as a plague that threatens the peace and stability of the whole world.
  We will use all the power of the law to prevent support reaching illegal organizations, including terrorist groups.
• We shall continue to work for a Middle East that is free of strife and violence, living in harmony without the threat of terrorism or dangers of weapons of mass destruction.
  • Address at a press conference, as quoted in "Mubarak : Arabs to fight 'scourge of terrorism'" at CNN (3 June 2003)

• Dear citizens, Egypt will emerge from these current circumstances stronger, more confident and unified and stable. And our people will emerge with more awareness of how to achieve reconciliation and be more determined not to undermine its future and destiny.
• Hosni Mubarak who speaks to you today is proud of the long years he spent in the service of Egypt and its people. This dear nation is my country, it is the country of all Egyptians, here I have lived and fought for its sake and I defended its land, its sovereignty and interests and on this land I will die and history will judge me and others for our merits and faults.
  • Second televised speech in response to Egyptian protests of 2011, as quoted in "President Mubarak's speech after mass protest" at Reuters (1 February 2011)

• Dear youth of Egypt, dear citizens, I had already announced before that I am not going to run in the upcoming presidential elections. I have already given a lot to this country for more than 60 years of my effort, whether during the years of war or years of peace, and I am going to adhere to this decision, and at the same time adhere to the decision of shouldering the responsibility in defending the constitution and the national interest of the people until the transfer of power and the transfer of responsibility, which is going to be to the one that the people will choose as their leader in transparent and free elections where guarantees are going to be there for full transparency and for freedom.
  • Final televised speech in response to Egyptian protests of 2011, as quoted in "Full text of Mubarak's speech" at CNN (11 February 2011)

Alphabetized by author

• As he approached the end of his 30 years in power, perhaps the one thing Mubarak aimed to impress upon the people of Egypt above all else was his inevitability. He had beaten the odds and survived longer than his three predecessors combined. He inherited a country of 45 million people and saw that population double over the 30 years of his rule. In that time, he managed to dismantle the social welfare programmes established under Gamal Abdel Nasser and reverse the relative political openness of Anwar el-Sadat's years.
• Today, under the iron fist rule of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, that Egypt is one of widespread poverty and mass repression. This week, as Egyptians ranging from liberal politician Mohamed ElBaradei to former Salafi jihadist Nagih Ibrahim took to their social media accounts to mourn the death of Mubarak, it is worth recalling that the recent bouts of nostalgia for that era appear oblivious to the fact that Egypt's current tragedy is Mubarak's lasting legacy.
  • Abdullah Al-Arian, associate professor of history at Georgetown University (Qatar), "Hosni Mubarak's legacy is Abdel Fattah el-Sisi", Al Jazeera (27 February 2020)

• I hope that in Egypt there can be a transition toward a more democratic system without a break from President Mubarak, who in the West, above all in the United States, is considered the wisest of men and a precise reference point.
  • Silvio Berlusconi, in reference to the Egyptian protests of 2011, as quoted in Reuters news report posted as "Berlusconi: Hosni Mubarak Is 'The Wisest Of Men'", at The Huffington Post (4 February 2011), and in "Berlusconi: Mubarak is a wise man" at Al Jazeera (4 February 2011)

• Mubarak has been an ally of ours in a number of things and he's been very responsible on, relative to geopolitical interests in the region: Middle East peace efforts, the actions Egypt has taken relative to normalizing the relationship with Israel. … I would not refer to him as a dictator.
  • Joe Biden, on The Charlie Rose Show (27 January 2011)

• I really consider President and Mrs. Mubarak to be friends of my family.
  • Hillary Clinton, 2009 interview.

• The sooner Mubarak leaves, the better it is for everybody and the quicker we can restore normality and stability in Egypt and establish the cornerstone of democracy in the Middle East.
  • Mohamed ElBaradei, as quoted in "Mohamed ElBaradei urges world leaders to abandon Hosni Mubarak" in The Guardian (2 February 2011)

• I just spoke to him after his speech … and told him he has a responsibility to give meaning to those words, to take concrete steps and actions that deliver on that promise. Violence will not address the grievances of the Egyptian people. Suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away. … This moment of volatility has to be turned into a moment of promise.
  • Barack Obama, after a day of anti-government protests in Egypt, as quoted in "Obama: I told Mubarak he must deliver on his promises" at CNN (28 January 2011)

• In the name of God the merciful, the compassionate, citizens, during these very difficult circumstances Egypt is going through, President Hosni Mubarak has decided to step down from the office of president of the republic and has charged the high council of the armed forces to administer the affairs of the country. May God help everybody.
  • Omar Suleiman, announcing Hosni Mubarak's resignation on television, as quoted in BBC news report posted as "Text of Omar Suleiman's Address", at The New York Times (11 February 2011)

• For years, whenever I saw Mubarak, he reminded me of a mummy. He spent a considerable time each day to “prepare” himself. That meant dying his hair and eyebrows jet black, and applying rouge to his cheeks to make them look rosy, in more or less the same way Egyptian mummy makers did with dead pharaohs. He also wore heels to look taller and used a corset to keep his belly in. Despite declining eyesight, he shunned glasses in public. Even in his 80s, he wanted to appear alive and young, just as pharaohs had done. Mubarak’s attempts at securing eternal youth were faintly comical and ultimately harmless. What was not comical and certainly harmless was the mummification of his regime.
  • Amir Taheri, "Curse of the mummy", New York Post (13 February 2011)