Zine El Abidine Ben Ali
Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali (September 3, 1936 – September 19, 2019) was the second President of Tunisia from 1987 to 2011.
Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali | |
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| 2nd President of Tunisia | |
| In office 7 November 1987 – 15 January 2011 (Acting to 2 April 1989) | |
| Prime Minister | Hédi Baccouche Hamed Karoui Mohamed Ghannouchi |
| Preceded by | Habib Bourguiba |
| Succeeded by | Fouad Mebazaa (Interim) |
| Prime Minister of Tunisia | |
| In office 2 October 1987 – 7 November 1987 | |
| President | Habib Bourguiba |
| Preceded by | Rachid Sfar |
| Succeeded by | Hédi Baccouche |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 3, 1936 Hammam Sousse, French Tunisia |
| Died | September 19, 2019 (aged 83) Jeddah, Saudi Arabia |
| Political party | Democratic Constitutional Rally |
| Spouse(s) | Leila Ben Ali |
| Full name | Zine El Abidine Ben Haj Hamda Ben Haj Hassen Ben Ali |
On January 14, 2011, he was forced to leave Tunisia and go to Saudi Arabia with his wife Leïla Ben Ali and their three children after a month of protests against his rule. The Arab Spring started in Tunisia.
Birth
Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali was born in Hammam Sousse on September 3, 1936.
Work before Presidency
He was assigned to manage (direct and take care) the Defense Military Security in 1964, and worked there until 1974. He was then promoted (his grade was changed to a superior one) to director-general of National Security at the Ministry of Interior in 1977. After that, he was assigned to take care of relations between Tunisia and the Kingdom of Morocco.
After being the ambassador of Tunisia in Poland, he returned to National Security.
Right before becoming the President of Tunisian Republic, Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali has been promoted to Prime Minister and the constitutional successor on October 1, 1987.
Five weeks after his promotion he, officially, became the Second President of Tunisia.
Controversy
The way that Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali governs had cause some problems with groups including the Al-Jazeera channel. Al-Jazeera does not believe it is correct for Ben Ali to say that Muslim women wearing headscarves (religious clothes) in public places must take then off and say that they will not wear them in public again.
Death
Ben Ali died at a hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia of prostate cancer on September 19, 2019 at the age of 83.[1][2]
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali Media
Hammam Sousse, birthplace of Ben Ali
A young Ben Ali, as a military officer, in Tunis, 1961
Portrait of Ben Ali at the presidential palace of Carthage.
Ben Ali with Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Taha Yassin Ramadan in 1988
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and Carlos Menem in 1997
William Cohen is welcomed by Ben Ali at the Presidential Palace in Tunis, in 2000
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in 2002
Colin Powell meeting with Ben Ali on 17 February 2004
George W. Bush meets with Ben Ali in the Oval Office on 18 Feb 2004
Donald H. Rumsfeld and Peter Rodman meet with Ben Ali in Tunis, in February 2006
