"Raís" is correct. It refers to Mubarak, who was president of Egypt, known as the "rais", a term often applied to the ruler of a Moslem state. Ahmed Shafiq was his last prime minister: the last prime minister of the "rais", President Mubarak. It was Mubarak, the rais, that Shariq described as a "model":

"In November 2011, Shafik announced his candidacy in the Egyptian presidential elections. Shafik's candidacy has sparked controversy and protest within Egypt, with many considering him to be a holdover of the Mubarak regime. Shafik's remark that he considers former president Housni Mubarak to be a "role model" has been particularly controversial."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmed_Shafik

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rais

"Los 18 días de la represión del 'raís'"
http://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2012/06/02/act...

"La justicia condena a Mubarak a cadena perpetua por la muerte de manifestantes
El tribunal condena también al ex ministro de Interior por los mismos delitos
Absueltos de los delitos de corrupción Alaa y Gamal Mubarak, hijos del 'raís' depuesto"
http://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2012/06/01/act...

I would use the same word in English; journalists do so, as in Spain. It could be put in inverted commas.

"Rumors of Mubarak's ill health and possible dementia have already been circulating for sometime, although his address to the Egyptian nation seemed coherent. Then again, he was reading a statement likely to have been dictated and written by a governmental policy wonk. Medical evaluation is one thing; permanent residence is another. The deposed Shah traveled from pillar to post. Where the Rais will end up is the 60 million dollar question!"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/08/hosni-mubarak-headi...

"Yet if they have discarded the rais – the President – the military's high command are men of the old order. Indeed, most of the army's highest-ranking officers were long ago sucked into the nexus of regime power. In Mubarak's last government, the vice- president was a general, the prime minister was a general, the deputy prime minister was a general, the minister of defence was a general and the minister of interior was a general."
http://www.martinfrost.ws/htmlfiles/feb2011/wn1816.html

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Note added at 39 mins (2012-06-19 17:18:06 GMT)
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Note that "al que describe" suggests he was talking about a person (which he evidently was), although it's not impossible, in principle, that you might personify the country like this.

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Note added at 41 mins (2012-06-19 17:20:22 GMT)
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The last prime minister of the president does make sense, just as you can say the Dominique de Villepin was President Chirac's prime minister, for example.