Muhammad Hosni Said Mubarak was born in the Al Monufiyah Governorate, Egypt, and earned a degree in military sciences from the Egyptian Military Academy in 1949. He joined the air force and held a variety of appointments, including chief of staff and air chief marshal. In 1975, he was appointed vice president of Egypt. Following the assassination of Anwar Sadat in 1981, Mubarak became president of the country and leader of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP). He was reelected president on four occasions in balloting that was marred by government interference.

As president, Mubarak has pursued moderate, pro-Western policies. He was able to secure increases in U.S. military and economic assistance throughout the 1980s and 1990s. During this period, Egypt received an annual average of $1.3 billion in military aid and $815 million in economic funding from the United States. American support allowed the Egyptian military to become the second most powerful in the Middle East, behind only Israel. Mubarak supported the U.S.-led coalition in the Persian Gulf War and contributed troops to the military force that liberated Kuwait. In return, the United States and Europe forgave $20 billion of Egypt's foreign debt. Mubarak also lent support to successive efforts to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict and hosted the Taba Summit. In the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks, Mubarak increased intelligence cooperation with the United States. However, he did not support the U.S.-led 2003 Iraq War.

Mubarak is also popular among regional leaders. In 1989, he was able to end Egypt's suspension from the Arab League (put in place because of Sadat's peace agreement with Israel). He also twice served as chairman of the Organization of African Unity (1989-1990 and 1993-1994).

Domestically, Mubarak has faced discontent, and Egypt's unemployment rate has remained above 20 percent since 1992. He survived six assassination attempts and there has been a radical Islamic insurgency since the late 1980s led by groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood. One result has been the continued imposition of emergency rule, which provides the president with extensive security powers. In response to domestic dissatisfaction and pressure from the administration of President George W. Bush, Mubarak enacted some democratic reforms in 2005. For the first time in modern Egyptian history, other parties besides the NDP were allowed to field candidates in the 2005 presidential elections.

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