Ex-Egyptian vice president and former head of intelligence Omar Suleiman dies

Ex-Egyptian vice president and former head of intelligence, Omar Suleiman, 76, died in the United States, while undergoing a medical examination, the official MENA news agency reported.

"Former Vice President Gen. Omar Suleiman died in the early hours of Thursday in a hospital in the United States. He was fine. It came suddenly while he was having medical tests in Cleveland,” said the aide, Hussein Kamal, without further details, Al-arabiya news reported.

Suleiman was one of the most trusted senior officials to ex-Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. During the popular revolution, he was appointed as Mubarak's vice president.

He had also been at the forefront of the struggle in the 1990s against armed Islamist groups.

Last month, Suleiman left Egypt to Abu Dhabi with relatives, according to a person familiar with the matter.

General Omar Suleiman was responsible for the Palestinian file in the Egyptian government, especially after Hamas controlled Gaza strip in 2007. He used to be a man of shadow, not talkative, but he had a strong personality. He also kept himself far away from any financial corruption during the ex-regime and this helped him to apply as a presidential candidate. Unfortunately, due to the complicated situation in Egypt, his application was rejected without giving any logic reasons.

I feel sorry for his death. This man would have helped to rescue Egypt with his excellent international relations.

Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/07/19/227231.html