Egypt’s former President Hosni Mubarak passes away at 91

Egypt’s former President Mohammed Hosni Mubarak, who ruled the country for 30 years, died yesterday. He was 91.

A former air force chief, Mubarak became Vice President of Egypt on 14 October 1981, and just eight days later, was sworn in as the President after Islamist militants assassinated his predecessor Anwar Sadat during a military parade.

Within Egypt Mubarak presided over slow but steady economic growth and largely kept the country out of armed conflicts after decades of war with Israel.

As the region was convulsed by one crisis after another, Mubarak was seen as a steady hand and a reliable U.S. partner against Islamic extremism. He sent troops as part of the U.S.-led coalition in the 1990-1991 Gulf war and contributed to efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

After almost three decades in power, Mubarak, was forced to resign on February 11, 2011, following 18 days of protests around the country.