Mubarak clan faces uncertain future (News Feature)

By Anne-Beatrice Clasmann Feb 8, 2011, 17:06 GMT

Cairo/Istanbul - The last two men preceding him left office feet first, and their relatives are held by Egyptians in esteem.

Such is how Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak, 82, and his family likely envisioned their future. Things have turned out differently, though. The old patriarch and his wife, Suzanne, who is 13 years his junior, now have to make new plans.

The family fortune, some of which is invested in real estate in the United States and London, will certainly ensure that the Mubaraks continue to live comfortably. They have close ties to Britain because Suzanne Mubarak is the daughter of a British nurse and an Egyptian doctor.

When Mubarak, then Egypt's little-known vice-president, was catapulted into the presidency in October 1981 by Anwar Sadat's assassination, few would have expected him in office 30 years later.

But the former air force commander from the province of Manufia quickly honed his political instincts, and his popular touch was well-received by ordinary Egyptians.

Mubarak speaks the language of the common man, in contrast to his wife, whose origins are less humble. The couple's two sons, Alaa and Gamal, have lived much of their lives in luxury behind high walls and lack this talent.

Gamal in particular, who many believe was being groomed to succeed his father - perhaps at his mother's wish - usually appears quite wooden.

Alaa, the elder son, is a businessman and stays out of the public eye. Like his father, whom he resembles physically, he had two sons. The elder boy, Muhammad, died aged 12 in a Paris hospital in May 2009 after his health suddenly deteriorated.

The child's death was a severe blow not only to Alaa and his wife. A spokesman at the presidential palace said that Mubarak, too, had been deeply saddened by the loss of his favourite grandchild. In mourning, Mubarak cancelled several important political meetings.

Gamal, who began his career as an investment banker in Cairo and London, was one of Egypt's most eligible bachelors for 20 years. Women did not seem to interest him, though, and he focused fully on liberalizing the half-socialistic economy of Egypt, home to 80 million people.

While endearing himself to the business community, Gamal became a symbol of Egypt's shrinking social solidarity among the poor, Islamists and political Left. On top of this, speculation has been rife during the past 10 years on which Egyptian companies the Mubarak family has acquired stakes in.

Many nationalistic Egyptians, proud of their country's republican traditions, opposed Gamal's trajectory towards the presidency as a matter of principle. United by an aversion to 'hereditary succession,' opposition groups with little in common joined forces in recent years.

Four years ago Gamal, now 47, finally married. His wife, Khadija el-Gamal, is the daughter of a construction magnate and 20 years younger than he is. She fancies high heels and eye-catching make-up, unlike her rather aristocratic-looking mother-in-law. Last year in London she gave birth to a daughter, Farida.

Considered to be a bookworm and art connoisseur, Suzanne Mubarak is always wearing a gentle, serene smile in family photographs. She has received numerous international awards for her involvement in education and culture. She did not halt the rapid decline of standards at Egypt's state schools and universities, however.

This legacy of Mubarak-era stagnation could be the one with the longest impact on Egypt's future, regardless of whether the Mubaraks - who are said to have used their position of power to amass billions of dollars - spend their twilight years in the upscale Cairo district of Heliopolis, in their house in the seaside resort of Sharm el- Sheikh, in London, in Germany or in the United States.

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