Regional and international events have also emboldened the Egyptian opposition, not only to press for reform, but to focus on amending the constitution's articles that pertain to the presidency. Mubarak has been re-elected four times, and rumors have persisted that he will either seek a fifth six-year term or establish a "hereditary republic" and groom his 41-year old son, Gamal, to succeed him, like Syria's Hafez al-Assad and son, Bashar.