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Decision-makers

MRS SUZANNE Mubarak on Saturday inaugurated the headquarters of the National Council for Women (NCW) and the Suzanne Mubarak Health Insurance Hospital in the south governorate of Minya. Mrs Mubarak also laid the cornerstone of the Mubarak Public Library which will be completed next year.

Inaugurating the NCW headquarters comes as part of the plan to include women in the political decision- making process and in social, educational and cultural activities nationwide.

In her inaugural speech, Mrs Mubarak praised Egyptian women for their vital role during the 7 September presidential elections and their determination to vote in the first multi- candidate elections to take place in Egypt.

Mrs Mubarak assured women that they also shared the responsibility in deciding the nation's destiny in light of the upcoming challenges facing the country. "There are many noble targets that we have yet to achieve and challenges to meet for the nation to prosper," she said.

Ex-minister dies

FORMER Interior Minister Hassan Abu Basha died in hospital on Sunday after a long battle with lung cancer. The 83-year-old Abu Basha was born in Cairo on 2 December 1922. He graduated from the Police Academy in 1945 and received a law degree from Cairo University in 1968.

In 1975 he was appointed head of Egypt's State Security Department under former President Anwar El-Sadat. As State Security Department head, he was included in the government's decision to crack down on political opponents, and Muslim and Christian extremists.

Only three months after El-Sadat was assassinated by Muslim extremists, Abu Basha was appointed interior minister, in January 1982, serving until 1984. His role as a top official during a time of great political turmoil made him a target of militants. On 6 May 1987 gunmen attempted to kill him, firing at him from a pickup truck just outside his Cairo home. Abu Basha, who was retired at the time, was seriously wounded in the leg and hip.

In 1999, two Islamic militants, affiliated to a group known as the Survivors from Hell, were arrested and sentenced to life in prison for the attempted assassination.

Abu Basha is survived by his son and two daughters.

Compiled by Reem Nafie