Mubarak, force for stability in Egypt
(China Daily)
Updated: 2005-07-30 07:22

CAIRO: In the Nile Delta town of Shibin el-Kom, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak announced on Thursday he would seek a fifth six-year term at the helm of the most populous Arab nation, where most people can remember no other leader.

Mubarak has been a force for stability for nearly 25 years, promoting peace abroad and economic reforms at home.

Mubarak's main rival in the presidential election on September 7 is likely to be Ayman Nour of the liberal Ghad Party, who was detained in January and remains on trial on charges of forgery. He says the charges are fabricated to discredit him.

Mubarak has already ruled Egypt longer than anyone since Muhammad Ali Pasha. In the early 19th century the Albanian adventurer founded the dynasty toppled by the military in 1952.

Thrust into office by the 1981 assassination of Anwar Sadat, the burly former air force commander has proven a far more durable leader than anyone imagined likely at the time.

'No picnic'

Mubarak began his presidency by leading Egypt back toward the centre of regional politics after it was ostracized in the Arab world for making peace with Israel in 1979.

He quashed an Islamist uprising in the 1990s but did not follow up with practical steps to make Egypt more democratic.

Page:

1

2

Close

Leshan giant buddha Explosion near Sanlitun Tornado occurs off the waters of Zhejiang

Today's Top News     Top China News
President Hu Jintao: Gender equality crucial         Special grants offered to poor students         EU takes steps to unblock China textiles         Farmers sue county for illegal land use         Search for 123 trapped miners suspended         Hurricane Katrina rocks New Orleans	China launches new scientific satellite       Search for 123 trapped miners suspended       EU takes steps to unblock China textiles       China award Egypt aircraft production licence       President Hu Jintao: Gender equality crucial       UN: China on track to meet all MDGs