Why late President Sadat chose Mubarak as his deputy

CAIRO - 26 February 2020: Late prominent writer Mohamed Hassanein Heikal says in his book "Mubarak and his Time from the Podium to the Square" that late President Mohamed Anwar Sadat chose Muhammad Hosni Mubarak as his deputy due to his participation in the peace process.

Heikal added in his book that Sadat was puzzled over the position of vice president after the October 6, 1973 war and that he needed a military leader who understood his policy and vision of the peace process, which was the reason behind appointing Mubarak.

Sadat noted that the October generation had five leaders: Ahmed Ismail, who had died by then;Al-Jamsi, the director of operations in the October War and the defense minister; Mohamed Ali Fahmy, the commander of air defense; Hosni Mubarak, the commander of aviation; and Naval Commander Fouad Zikra. "It must be one of them," Sadat said.

Heikal suggested that Mubarak be given a different opportunity to head a ministry of production or services, in order to understand the people's demands and needs, but Sadat refused.

When Heikal asked Sadat about the reason behind the limitation of his choices to October generation only,Sadat firmly answered, "You know that the president of this country must be a military, so warlords take precedence over others."

According to Heikal, one of the reasons why Sadat chose Mubarak was that he was born in Menoufia, the same governorate in which Sadat was born.



A military funeral was held for former Egyptian President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak who died on February 25, 2020 at the age of 91 and ruled the country for 30 years between 1981 and 2011.

Mubarak stepped down on February 11, 2011 as a consequence of January 25, 2011, and had been subject to prosecution before he was cleared of all charges.