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CAIRO – War hero. Savior of the nation. An anchor of stability in aturbulent region. And in the twilight of his life, a criminalconvicted for his role in the deaths of those fighting to oust him. Hosni Mubarak was sentenced Saturday to life in prison after acourt convicted him on charges of complicity in the killing ofprotesters during the 2011 uprising that forced him from power. Histwo sons — Gamal and Alaa — were acquitted oncorruption charges. It was an inglorious end for a leader who rose to power afterIslamic extremists assassinated his predecessor Anwar Sadat andthen steered the nation through the turmoil that swept the MiddleEast buffeted by wars, terrorism and religious extremism. The frail, 84-year-old Mubarak heard the verdict from a gurney inthe defendants' cage, surrounded by his sons and former officialswho stood in the dock to answer for the crimes of his nearly30-year rule. The decision can be appealed. That scene was in stark contrast to the image Mubarak had sought toportray as the rock-solid "father of the nation." In the early daysof his rule, Mubarak's stern, colorless demeanor was a welcomechange from the destructive charisma of Gamal Abdel-Nasser and themercurial style of Sadat. As Mubarak clung to power, the status quo that he personifiedbecame increasingly loathed. Like the Great Sphinx that sitsimmutable through the millennia, this ancient land once revered asthe vibrant leader of the Arab world stagnated. Its massesstruggled to feed and clothe themselves while countries of the Gulf— once little more than desert oases — seized the rolethat Egypt once enjoyed. At home, Mubarak and his aging coterie of generals and businesstycoons were unable to check boiling currents of popular fury, orharness the history unfolding in his nation of 80 million —the most populous in the Arab world. A former pilot and air force commander with a combative, stubbornstreak, Mubarak took tentative steps toward democratic reform earlyin his presidency but pulled back toward the dictatorial style thateventually propelled the protests against him that began on Jan.25, 2011. A 2009 cable from the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, released by thesecret-sharing WikiLeaks website, called him "a tried and truerealist, innately cautious and conservative," and with "little timefor idealistic goals." It noted that Mubarak disapproved of the 2003 U.S. invasion thattoppled Saddam Hussein of Iraq, which he believed was in need of a"'tough, strong military officer who is fair'" as leader. "This telling observation, we believe, describes Mubarak's own viewof himself as someone who is tough but fair, who ensures the basicneeds of his people," the cable said. "In Mubarak's mind, it is farbetter to let a few individuals suffer than risk chaos for societyas a whole." Yet that very image of cautious stability was once welcomed in theWest, which feared that Sadat's death in a hail of gunfire at amilitary parade would unleash a wave of unrest that would scuttlethe fledgling peace with Israel at a time when America and itsallies were panicked over the rise of militant Islam in Iran. Instead, Mubarak maintained the peace with Israel and kept Egyptfree of the grip of Islamic extremism. He struggled with theproblems that have long bedeviled the Arab world: chokingcorruption, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and religiousmilitancy. Economic reforms spurred growth, but the fruits trickledonly to a few. He engineered Egypt's return to the Arab fold after nearly a decadein the cold over its 1979 peace treaty with Israel. Early on, Mubarak crushed an insurgency by Muslim extremists, whoseranks had produced Sadat's assassins and some future al-Qaidaleaders. In the 1990s, he fought hard against another resurgence ofMuslim militants whose attacks included the slaughter of dozens offoreign tourists at the temple city of Luxor. Eli Shaked, who served as Israel's ambassador to Egypt from2003-2005, described Mubarak as "a strong presence, not charismaticbut with a heavy body like a fighter bomber, and very levelheaded." Shaked said Mubarak met visiting Israeli officials with at leastthree top advisers by his side, often consulting with them anddemonstrating a detailed knowledge of Israeli politics. The Israelisaid Mubarak liked "political jokes and witticisms," but was shorton creativity: "The man is completely status quo." Mohammed Hosni Mubarak was born on May 4, 1928, in the village ofKafr el-Moseilha in the Nile delta province of Menoufia. Hisfamily, like Sadat's and Nasser's, was lower middle class. After joining the air force in 1950, Mubarak moved up the ranks asa bomber pilot and instructor and rose to leadership positions. Heearned nationwide accalim as commander of the air force during the1973 Middle East war — a conflict which many Egyptians see asa victory — and was vice president when Sadat wasassassinated. Mubarak, who was sitting beside Sadat in thereviewing stand, escaped with a minor hand injury. In his early days, Mubarak made popular moves that held up promiseof a more open society, including freeing 1,500 politicians,journalists and clerics jailed during Sadat's last months inoffice. But hopes for broader reform dimmed. Mubarak was re-elected instaged, one-man referendums in which he routinely won more than 90percent approval. He became more aloof, carefully choreographinghis public appearances, and his authoritarian governance,buttressed by harsh emergency laws, fueled resentment. Age took its toll on the president, who was once an avid squashplayer with a consistent style that matched his personality. Hebecame hard of hearing, and was so devastated by the death of a12-year-old grandson in 2009 that he canceled a trip to the UnitedStates. Egypt's influence in the Middle East, meanwhile, waned as themilitant groups Hamas and Hezbollah and their patron, Iran, gainedmomentum and followers. The oil-rich countries of Saudi Arabia,Qatar and the United Arab Emirates seized the mantle of leadershipregional leadership. The growing profile of Turkey, a democracy ledby an Islam-inspired government, also chipped away at Egypt'sheavyweight stature in the region. In 2005, Mubarak held the country's first contested presidentialelection, an event marred by charges of voter fraud andintimidation. He retrenched when opponents made gains in ensuingparliamentary elections, launching a harsh campaign of arrestsagainst the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's biggest and best organizedopposition group that now dominates the parliament elected afterMubarak's downfall. Before the protests began, Mubarak had been silent on whether heintended to seek re-election in September. But the quick rise ofhis son, Gamal, through the ruling party caused immense anxiety. The fear that Mubarak was grooming Gamal, a wealthy businessman, tosucceed him left many Egyptians feeling trapped in the past,deprived of change and renewal. Then, the uprising in Tunisiadelivered an electrifying message: an old order can be ousted. Mubarak initially responded to protests by saying he would not seekanother term, and his government said Gamal Mubarak would not run,either. But the president rejected demands that he step downimmediately, telling ABC News that he'd like to leave but fearedthe country would sink deeper into chaos without him. It was a persuasive argument for 29 years, but in 2011 it wasoverwhelmed by the cries of huge crowds in Cairo's Tahrir Square:"Leave! Leave!" ___ Associated Press writers Hamza Hendawi and Lee Keath contributed tothis report. 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