Gamal Mubarak
Encyclopedia
Gamal Al Din Mohammed Hosni Sayed Mubarak , (born on December 27, 1963), is the younger of the two sons of ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak
and former First Lady Suzanne Mubarak
. In contrast to his older brother Alaa
, Gamal had pursued an active public profile and was starting to wield some influence on political life in the country before the revolution
of early 2011.
Prior to the revolution, Gamal was the deputy secretary-general of the then-ruling and now-dissolved National Democratic Party
, and head of its influential policies committee.
For his early education, he attended St. George's College, Cairo
before entering the American University in Cairo
. He graduated with a Business
Degree from the university and he claims he also earned an MBA from the school. He began his professional life working for Bank of America
. He worked primarily in the field of investment banking
.
With a few colleagues, Mubarak left Bank of America to set up London-based Medinvest Associates Ltd, which manages a private equity fund
, and to do some corporate finance consultancy work. His role with Medinvest has since ended.
Mubarak is also the former Chairman of the Future Generation Foundation (FGF), an NGO dedicated to job training, and a former honorary member of the Rotary
, which was awarded to him in May 2000 by then Rotary International president Frank Devlyn.
In May 2007, Mubarak married Khadija El Gammal, the daughter of Egyptian businessman Mahmoud El Gammal. They have a daughter, Farida, who was born in 2010.
During the first week of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution
there were unconfirmed reports and speculation that Gamal may have left Egypt during the protests. However, on February 3, 2011, Gamal was present for an ABC News interview of his father in Cairo.
On 13 April 2011, Gamal was imprisoned for 15 days pending investigations for corruption, abuse of power, and for his alleged role in causing the fatalities and casualties of peaceful protesters during the revolution which was sparked on January 25, 2011.
in June 2000 just hours after Hafez al-Asad's death, sparked a heated debate in the Egyptian press regarding the prospects for a similar scenario occurring in Cairo.
Both President Mubarak and his son denied the possibility of any inheritance of power in Egypt. More recently, this claim was made in early 2006, when Gamal Mubarak declared repeatedly that he had no aspiration to succeed his father, but that he would maintain his position in the then-ruling NDP as deputy secretary general, a post he held in addition to heading the party's policy committee, allegedly the most important organ of the NDP.
In September 2004 several political groups (most are unofficial), on both the left and the right, announced their sharp opposition to the inheritance of power. They demanded political change and asked for a fair election with more than one candidate.
On February 26, 2005, Mubarak ordered the constitution changed to allow multi-candidate presidential elections before September 2005 by asking parliament to amend Article 76 of the Egyptian constitution
. This change in the constitution was seen then by some analysts and senior judicial figures as a ploy to seamlessly allow Gamal Mubarak to inherit the top position in Egypt. According to this view, Gamal Mubarak would be one of the candidates in a presidential elections and would be supported by the ruling party and the government-controlled media. Since remaining serious candidates would be disqualified by the NDP-controlled People's Assembly
leaving only the less popular candidates, the inheritance of power would be accomplished through a "democratic" process.
Following the commencement of the 2011 Egyptian revolution
, Omar Suleiman
was appointed the vice-president of Egypt on January 29, 2011. Suleiman announced on 3 February 2011 that Gamal Mubarak would not seek election.
's rule was caused by Gamal and his friends taking over as a political advisers to Mubarak. On the other hand, a wide range of analysts credit Gamal Mubarak for reviving the Egyptian economy over the past five years, from a stagnant, mostly state-run economy to a largely free market system that enjoyed 5% GDP growth.
Reuters
Africa reports of a fight taking place between him and his older brother, Alaa Mubarak
. Alaa supposedly accused him of ruining his father's last days, and humiliating him.
published a list of bank accounts allegedly belonging to Gamal Mubarak. Al-Ahram reported that the Chief Prosecutor of Egypt received a report that Gamal Mubarak inexplicably amassed significant sums of money that were deposited in these accounts. This allegation came on background of a decision from the Prosecutor General of Egypt to freeze all bank accounts belonging to the Mubarak family, including Gamal Mubarak. The Egyptian Appeals Court ordered that Mubarak's financial status is reviewed by the court on March 5, 2011. It is expected that the court will render a decision in that hearing whether or not to uphold the decision to freeze Mubarak's assets.
Hosni Mubarak
Muhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak is a former Egyptian politician and military commander. He served as the fourth President of Egypt from 1981 to 2011....
and former First Lady Suzanne Mubarak
Suzanne Mubarak
Suzanne Mubarak is married to the former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and was First Lady of Egypt until his ouster on 11 February 2011.-Early life and education:...
. In contrast to his older brother Alaa
Alaa Mubarak
Alaa Mubarak , or Alā'-ud-dīn Muhammad Husni Sayyid Mubarak is an Egyptian businessman and the elder of two sons of ousted president Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, who served from 1981-2011, and his wife Suzanne Mubarak....
, Gamal had pursued an active public profile and was starting to wield some influence on political life in the country before the revolution
2011 Egyptian revolution
The 2011 Egyptian revolution took place following a popular uprising that began on Tuesday, 25 January 2011 and is still continuing as of November 2011. The uprising was mainly a campaign of non-violent civil resistance, which featured a series of demonstrations, marches, acts of civil...
of early 2011.
Prior to the revolution, Gamal was the deputy secretary-general of the then-ruling and now-dissolved National Democratic Party
National Democratic Party (Egypt)
The National Democratic Party , often simply called Al-Ḥizb al-Waṭaniy – the "National Party", was an Egyptian political party. It was founded by President Anwar El Sadat in 1978....
, and head of its influential policies committee.
For his early education, he attended St. George's College, Cairo
St. George's College, Cairo
St. George's College in Cairo, Egypt, is a boys' school that offers the basic three stages of the pre-university education system in Egypt . The primary language of instruction is English; nevertheless, social sciences are taught in Arabic. In addition, French is also taught as a second foreign...
before entering the American University in Cairo
American University in Cairo
The American University in Cairo is an independent, non-profit, apolitical, secular institution of higher learning located in Cairo, Egypt...
. He graduated with a Business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
Degree from the university and he claims he also earned an MBA from the school. He began his professional life working for Bank of America
Bank of America
Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
. He worked primarily in the field of investment banking
Investment banking
An investment bank is a financial institution that assists individuals, corporations and governments in raising capital by underwriting and/or acting as the client's agent in the issuance of securities...
.
With a few colleagues, Mubarak left Bank of America to set up London-based Medinvest Associates Ltd, which manages a private equity fund
Private equity fund
A private equity fund is a collective investment scheme used for making investments in various equity securities according to one of the investment strategies associated with private equity....
, and to do some corporate finance consultancy work. His role with Medinvest has since ended.
Mubarak is also the former Chairman of the Future Generation Foundation (FGF), an NGO dedicated to job training, and a former honorary member of the Rotary
Rotary International
Rotary International is an organization of service clubs known as Rotary Clubs located all over the world. The stated purpose of the organization is to bring together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help...
, which was awarded to him in May 2000 by then Rotary International president Frank Devlyn.
In May 2007, Mubarak married Khadija El Gammal, the daughter of Egyptian businessman Mahmoud El Gammal. They have a daughter, Farida, who was born in 2010.
During the first week of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution
2011 Egyptian revolution
The 2011 Egyptian revolution took place following a popular uprising that began on Tuesday, 25 January 2011 and is still continuing as of November 2011. The uprising was mainly a campaign of non-violent civil resistance, which featured a series of demonstrations, marches, acts of civil...
there were unconfirmed reports and speculation that Gamal may have left Egypt during the protests. However, on February 3, 2011, Gamal was present for an ABC News interview of his father in Cairo.
On 13 April 2011, Gamal was imprisoned for 15 days pending investigations for corruption, abuse of power, and for his alleged role in causing the fatalities and casualties of peaceful protesters during the revolution which was sparked on January 25, 2011.
Inheritance of Power
The grooming of Gamal Mubarak to be his father's successor as the next president of Egypt became increasingly evident at around the year 2000. With no vice-president, and with no heir-apparent in sight, Gamal started enjoying considerable attention in Egyptian state-run media. Bashar al-Asad's rise to power in SyriaSyria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
in June 2000 just hours after Hafez al-Asad's death, sparked a heated debate in the Egyptian press regarding the prospects for a similar scenario occurring in Cairo.
Both President Mubarak and his son denied the possibility of any inheritance of power in Egypt. More recently, this claim was made in early 2006, when Gamal Mubarak declared repeatedly that he had no aspiration to succeed his father, but that he would maintain his position in the then-ruling NDP as deputy secretary general, a post he held in addition to heading the party's policy committee, allegedly the most important organ of the NDP.
In September 2004 several political groups (most are unofficial), on both the left and the right, announced their sharp opposition to the inheritance of power. They demanded political change and asked for a fair election with more than one candidate.
On February 26, 2005, Mubarak ordered the constitution changed to allow multi-candidate presidential elections before September 2005 by asking parliament to amend Article 76 of the Egyptian constitution
Constitution of Egypt
The Constitution of the Arab Republic of Egypt was the fundamental law of Egypt. It was adopted on September 11, 1971 through a public referendum. It was later amended in 1980, 2005 and 2007. It was proclaimed to update the democratic representative system in assertion of the rule of law,...
. This change in the constitution was seen then by some analysts and senior judicial figures as a ploy to seamlessly allow Gamal Mubarak to inherit the top position in Egypt. According to this view, Gamal Mubarak would be one of the candidates in a presidential elections and would be supported by the ruling party and the government-controlled media. Since remaining serious candidates would be disqualified by the NDP-controlled People's Assembly
People's Assembly
People's Assembly refers to various legislative bodies:Ancient:* People's Assembly or Plebeian Council of Ancient Rome* Other Ancient Roman assembliesModern:* People's Assembly of Abkhazia...
leaving only the less popular candidates, the inheritance of power would be accomplished through a "democratic" process.
Following the commencement of the 2011 Egyptian revolution
2011 Egyptian revolution
The 2011 Egyptian revolution took place following a popular uprising that began on Tuesday, 25 January 2011 and is still continuing as of November 2011. The uprising was mainly a campaign of non-violent civil resistance, which featured a series of demonstrations, marches, acts of civil...
, Omar Suleiman
Omar Suleiman
Omar Suleiman is a former Egyptian army general, politician, diplomat, and intelligence officer. A leading figure in Egypt's intelligence system beginning in 1986, Suleiman was appointed to the long-vacant Vice Presidency by then-President Hosni Mubarak on 29 January 2011...
was appointed the vice-president of Egypt on January 29, 2011. Suleiman announced on 3 February 2011 that Gamal Mubarak would not seek election.
Role in the ouster of his father, Hosni Mubarak
Some political analysts speculate that the alleged deteriorating state of the Egyptian economy in the last days of Hosni MubarakHosni Mubarak
Muhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak is a former Egyptian politician and military commander. He served as the fourth President of Egypt from 1981 to 2011....
's rule was caused by Gamal and his friends taking over as a political advisers to Mubarak. On the other hand, a wide range of analysts credit Gamal Mubarak for reviving the Egyptian economy over the past five years, from a stagnant, mostly state-run economy to a largely free market system that enjoyed 5% GDP growth.
Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
Africa reports of a fight taking place between him and his older brother, Alaa Mubarak
Alaa Mubarak
Alaa Mubarak , or Alā'-ud-dīn Muhammad Husni Sayyid Mubarak is an Egyptian businessman and the elder of two sons of ousted president Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, who served from 1981-2011, and his wife Suzanne Mubarak....
. Alaa supposedly accused him of ruining his father's last days, and humiliating him.
Allegations of corruption
Following the ouster of Hosni Mubarak, media sources started to point to the financial dealings of Gamal Mubarak, which were described as suspicious. On 28 February 2011 the Egyptian daily Al-AhramAl-Ahram
Al-Ahram , founded in 1875, is the most widely circulating Egyptian daily newspaper, and the second oldest after al-Waqa'i`al-Masriya . It is majority owned by the Egyptian government....
published a list of bank accounts allegedly belonging to Gamal Mubarak. Al-Ahram reported that the Chief Prosecutor of Egypt received a report that Gamal Mubarak inexplicably amassed significant sums of money that were deposited in these accounts. This allegation came on background of a decision from the Prosecutor General of Egypt to freeze all bank accounts belonging to the Mubarak family, including Gamal Mubarak. The Egyptian Appeals Court ordered that Mubarak's financial status is reviewed by the court on March 5, 2011. It is expected that the court will render a decision in that hearing whether or not to uphold the decision to freeze Mubarak's assets.
External links
- Interview with Gamal Mubarak: "We Need Audacious Leaders", Middle East Quarterly, Winter 2009
- Egypt: Time of the Reformers, Interview by Pascal Drouhaud, Politique internationalePolitique internationalePolitique internationale is a French political affairs journal, dedicated in particular to international relations. Over the past 32 years, Politique Internationale has been recognized as one of the influential French-language publications addressing international issues...
, n° 120, Paris, 2008 - Daniel Sobelman, "Gamal Mubarak: President of Egypt?", Middle East Quarterly, Spring 2001
- National Democratic Party
- Amnesty International's 2005 Report on Egypt
- BBCBBC News OnlineBBC News Online is the website of BBC News, the division of the BBC responsible for newsgathering and production. The website is the most popular news website in the United Kingdom and forms a major part of BBC Online ....
: "Mubarak son raises public profile", September 10, 2004. - MSNBCMSNBCMSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
: "Stage set for political dynasty in Egypt?", July 28, 2004. - Foreign PolicyForeign PolicyForeign Policy is a bimonthly American magazine founded in 1970 by Samuel P. Huntington and Warren Demian Manshel.Originally, the magazine was a quarterly...
: - Egypt Has a Right to Nuclear Energy for Peaceful Purposes. Nuclear Energy - a Possible Alternative in the Future 9/20/2006