Hosni Mubarak

by Susan Muaddi Darraj

Published 30 June 2007
Most of the world mourned the death of Egyptian president Anwar Sadat, who was assassinated in 1981. However, in Egypt, where Sadat had been deeply unpopular, people held a skeptical view of his vice president and successor, Hosni Mubarak. When he assumed the office, President Mubarak already faced opposition from many sectors of the Egyptian population. And through the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and the two recent Persian Gulf wars, Mubarak's presidency has endured many challenges and obstacles. But he has also managed to usher Egypt through a difficult era with relative stability - though not without criticism. In this definitive new biography from the ""Modern World Leaders"" series, students will expand their knowledge of contemporary Middle Eastern politics by learning about Hosni Mubarak, tracing his rise from a humble background to a bright career in the military to the top of the Egyptian government.

Felipe Calderon

by Susan Muaddi Darraj

Published 30 October 2008
As a schoolboy, Felipe Calderon told his teacher that he wanted to be the president of Mexico one day. In 2006, he achieved that goal, but it was in the midst of one of the nation's most turbulent political scandals. Calderon was born into a political family. His father was one of the founders of the National Action Party, or PAN. PAN struggled for years, as the young Calderon witnessed, to gain political momentum against the PRI, the party that dominated the political scene for decades. The highly controversial election of 2006 is just one part of the complex world of Mexican politics, on which Calderon is now trying to leave a positive imprint.