MONSTERS & CRITICS: 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. >>> Anne-Beatrice Clasmann | Tuesday, February 08, 2011
