Gamal Mubarak Hosni Mubarak appointed him to the General Secretariat of the ruling National Democratic Party. Bashar al-Assad's rise to power in Syria in June 2000 just hours after Hafez al-Assad's death, sparked a heated debate in the Egyptian press regarding the prospects for a similar scenario occurring in Cairo. Mubarak founded, and became chairman of, the Future Generation Foundation (FGF), an NGO supporting job training but which also served as a vehicle for Mubarak's political career. Both President Mubarak and his son denied the possibility of any inheritance of power in Egypt. More recently, this claim was made in early 2006,
Hosni Mubarak had criticised his lack of action against Israel. Protests against Mubarak and his regime erupted in Cairo and other Egyptian cities in January 2011. On 1 February, Mubarak announced he would not contest the presidential election due in September. He also promised constitutional reform. This did not satisfy most protesters, who expected Mubarak to depart immediately. The demonstrations continued and on 2 February, violent clashes occurred between pro-Mubarak and anti-Mubarak protesters. On 10 February, contrary to rumours, Mubarak said he would not resign until the September election, though he would be delegating responsibilities to Vice President Omar Suleiman. The next