Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak passes away
Hosni Mubarak gives a speech at Cairo's Police Academy on January 24, 1985. File/ Reuters
Egypt's former President Hosni Mubarak has died at the age of 91, state television said on Tuesday, weeks after undergoing surgery.
UAE President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan sent a cable of condolences to President of Arab Republic of Egypt, Abdel Fattah El Sisi on the death of the former Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak.
In the cable, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa expressed his heartfelt condolences and solace on the death of Hosni Mubarak.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, also dispatched similar cables of condolences to the Egyptian President.
The UAE's Ministry of Presidential Affairs has mourned the death of Hosni Mubarak.
The ministry issued a statement saying, "Today, the Arab world has lost a prominent leader who devoted his life to the service of his country and the Arab world. Hosni Mubarak had a special relationship with the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan and a strong bond with The President, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who together helped bolster ties between the two countries further."
According to the statement, the UAE President has ordered for the UAE flag to be flown at half-mast across the country's government bodies and diplomatic missions abroad for a one-day period.
Mubarak ruled Egypt for 30 years until he was ousted following mass protests against his rule in 2011. He was jailed for years after the uprising, but was freed in 2017 after being acquitted of most charges.
Throughout his rule, he was a stalwart US ally, a bulwark against militancy.
He became the only leader so far ousted in the protest wave to be imprisoned. He was convicted along with his former security chief on June 2012 and sentenced to life in prison for failing to prevent the killing of some 900 protesters during the 18-day uprising against his regime in 2011. Both appealed the verdict and a higher court later cleared them in 2014.
The acquittal stunned many Egyptians, thousands of whom poured into central Cairo to show their anger against the court.
Mubarak, born in May 1928, was vice president on Oct. 14, 1981 when his mentor, President Anwar Sadat, was assassinated by extremists while reviewing a military parade.
Seated next to Sadat, Mubarak escaped with a minor hand injury as gunmen sprayed the reviewing stand with bullets. Eight days later, the brawny former air force commander was sworn in as president, promising continuity and order.
