Egypt - Personal background

Mohammed Hosni Mubarak was born on 4 May 1928 in the village of Kafr El-Meselha, in the Nile River Delta province of Menoufiya. He was one of five children born to an inspector in the Ministry of Justice. Mubarak received his early education at local elementary and secondary schools. Afterward, he enrolled in the National Military Academy, from which he graduated in 1949. He continued his military education, pursuing a two-year course at the Air Force Academy. From 1952 through 1959, he served as a flight instructor at the Academy. In 1964, Mubarak went to Moscow for a year of study at the elite Frunze General Staff academy, the most prestigious military school in the former USSR. Upon his return to Egypt in 1965, he served as commander of several air force bases. He rose through the ranks rapidly, being promoted to commander of the Air Force Academy (1967), air force chief of staff (1969), and commander in chief of the air force and deputy minister of war (1972). Mubarak presently lives in a modest two-story house in suburban Heliopolis with his wife, Suzanne. They have two sons, Alaa and Gamal, and one grandson.