Mubarak Assumes Power after Sadat's Assassination
On 6 October 1981, during the annual celebration of the 1973 crossing of the Suez Canal, Lieutenant Khalid Islambouli and three other soldiers of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad leapt from a military truck during the parade and opened fire on the reviewing stand, killing President Anwar Sadat and wounding eleven others, including Vice-President Hosni Mubarak. Islambouli's motive was Sadat's peace treaty with Israel and his crackdown on Islamist movements. Mubarak, seated beside Sadat, survived with a hand wound. He was sworn in as President on 14 October 1981 and immediately declared a state of emergency — which he would extend almost without interruption for the next 30 years. While promising controlled political opening, Mubarak maintained the Israel peace treaty, deepened ties with the US, and systematically dismantled any organised opposition.
- Year: 1981 CE
