Suzanne Mubarak, First Lady of Egypt

Suzanne Mubarak, First Lady of Egypt

Suzanne Mubarak (birth name Suzanne Saleh Sabet or Thabet) (Arabic: سوزان مبارك‎) (born February 28, 1941) is married to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and is the first lady of Egypt.

Suzanne Mubarak is the daughter of an Egyptian doctor, Saleh Sabet and Welsh nurse Lily May Palmer. Her father, at the time a 29 year old medical student at Cardiff University married the 29 year old Lily May Palmer at Islington, London on 16 March 1934. Lily was a trained nurse working at The Infirmary on Camden Road, Islington. She was the daughter of colliery manager Charles Henry Palmer, and grew up in Pontypridd, Glamorgan in Wales. Her grandmother is not a relative of Jehan Sadat.

Suzanne Mubarak was born in Al Minya Governorate, located on the Nile River about 150 kilometres to the south of Cairo. She studied at St. Claire Heliopolis in Cairo during high school and moved on to study at the American University in Cairo. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science (class of 1977) and a Master’s degree in Sociology of Education (1982). For her Master’s degree, her topic of study was “Social Action Research in Urban Egypt: A Case of Primary School Upgrading in Boulak.” She has two sons and two grandsons.

Mrs. Mubarak serves as a patron of the children’s television series, Alam Simsim (Arabic for Sesame’s World), Egypt’s version of the American series, Sesame Street, to promote its importance in improving children’s communication and reading skills.

Mrs. Mubarak is the honorary president of Rotary Clubs of Egypt, and her brother general Munir Thabet is the Rotary International district 2450 governor in 2004-2005. She received the Paul Harris fellowship several times. Her son Gamal Mubarak is also an honorary member of Rotary Clubs.

In 1985 she founded the Child Museum of Cairo in collaboration with the British Museum. In 2005, she opened the Hurghada branch of Mubarak’s Public Library.

Education

* Master’s degree in Sociology of Education.
* B.A. in Political Sciences, American University in Cairo,1977.
* High School Diploma, St. Claire School, Heliopolise, Cairo

Founder and Chairperson of the Integrated Care Society. Established in 1977, a non-profit organization with the main objective of providing social, cultural and health care to school children. The Integrated Care Society has various types of activities:

1. Cultural and Educational Activities for Children and Young People.
2. Community Services.
3. Services to the Disabled.