Egypt’s former long-time president Hosni Mubarak died on Tuesday at age 91 at Cairo’s Galaa military hospital, his brother-in-law General Mounir Thabet told news agencies.
He passed away at a hospital following reports he had been taken to an intensive care unit following complications from previous surgery.
Thabet, a former high-ranking military official, confirmed the family was still at the hospital and said the Egyptian presidential office would organise the funeral.
Mubarak was in power from 1981 until he was overthrown in 2011 amid the region’s Arab Spring protests.
Hosni Mubarak, who served as president from 1981 to 2011, played a major role in Egypt’s recent history, ushering in an era of relative prosperity and close political and military relations with the United States, but also a time of corruption and economic polarisation.
Despite the political repression under his rule, he was considered far more tolerant than Egypt’s current ruler, Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, and allowed opposition political parties and news outlets.
Since his 2017 release from prison, he has led a fairly quiet life with his wife, Suzanne, and their two sons, Alaa and Gamal, who were both convicted on corruption charges but released after four years in prison.
