Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak passed away on Tuesday, according to reports by the country's state-run TV said. He was 91 years old.
The leader, who spent nearly 30 years as the resolute face of stability in the Middle East was forced to resign by the military after 18 days of nationwide protests that were a part of the Arab world's 2011 pro-democracy upheaval.
Mubarak was a staunch US ally, standing against Islamic militancy and the guardian of Egypt's peace with Israel. However to many he was a relic, a latter-day pharaoh, ruling with brutality.
Inspired by the Tunisian revolt, they harnessed social media to unite the masses and unleash the popular anger that had brewed during his regime. In the end, with millions gathering in Cairo's Tahrir Square and city centers around Egypt and even marching to the doorstep of Mubarak's palace, the military pushed him aside on February 11, 2011. The generals took power, hoping to preserve what they could of the system he had headed.
Mubarak was found guilty of complicity in the killing of protesters during the revolution. He was convicted along with his former security chief on June 2012 and sentenced to life in prison for failing to prevent the killing of some 900 protesters who rose up against his autocratic regime in 2011. Both appealed the verdict and a higher court later cleared them in 2014.
Though Tunisia's president fell before him, the ouster of Mubarak was the more stunning collapse in the face of the Arab Spring shaking regimes across the Arab world.
His subsequent acquittal stunned many, prompting protests in Egypt. The following year, Mubarak and his two sons - businessman Alaa and Mubarak's one-time heir apparent Gamal - were sentenced to three years in prison on corruption charges during a retrial. Alaa and Gamal were released in 2015 for time served, while Mubarak walked free in 2017.
Since his arrest in April 2011, Mubarak had spent the nearly six years in jail in hospitals. A state TV report said that Mubarak had died at a Cairo hospital where he had undergone an unspecified surgery. While stating that he had had health complications, the report offered no other details.
(With inputs from agencies)
