Zine El Abidine Ben Ali
| Zine El Abidine Ben Ali | |
|---|---|
| زين العابدين بن علي | |
 |
|
| 2nd President of Tunisia | |
|
In office 7 November 1987 – 14 January 2011 Acting to 2 April 1989 |
|
| Prime Minister |
Hédi Baccouche Hamed Karoui Mohamed Ghannouchi |
| Preceded by | Habib Bourguiba |
| Succeeded by | Moncef Marzouki |
| 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 |
3 September 1936 Hammam Sousse, French Tunisia |
| Political party |
Socialist Destourian Party (1986-1988) Constitutional Democratic Rally (1988-2011) Independent (from 2011) |
| Spouse(s) | Na'ima el-Kafy (1964–1988), Leïla Ben Ali (1992-) |
| Children | Ghazwa El Abidine Dorsaf El Abidine Cyrine El Abidine Nesrine El Abidine Halima El Abidine Mohamed Zine El Abidine |
| Residence | Saudi Arabia |
| Alma mater |
Special Military School of Saint Cyr School of Applied Artillery Senior Intelligence School in Maryland School for Anti-Aircraft Field Artillery in Texas. |
| Religion | Sunni Islam |
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali (Arabic: زين العابدين بن علي, Zayn al-‘Ābidīn bin ‘Alī; born 3 September 1936) was the second President of Tunisia from 1987 to 2011, being in the position for 23 years. Ben Ali was appointed Prime Minister in October 1987, and he assumed the Presidency on 7 November 1987 in a bloodless coup d'état that ousted President Habib Bourguiba, who was declared incompetent. Ben Ali was subsequently reelected with enormous majorities, each time exceeding 90% of the vote; the final re-election was on 25 October 2009.
On 14 January 2011, following a month of protests against his rule, he was forced to flee to Saudi Arabia along with his wife Leïla Ben Ali and their three children. The interim Tunisian government asked for Interpol to issue an international arrest warrant, charging him for money laundering and drugs trafficking. A Tunisian court sentenced Ben Ali and his wife in absentia to 35 years in prison on 20 June 2011 on charges of theft and unlawful possession of cash and jewellery. In June 2012, a Tunisian court sentenced him in absentia to life imprisonment for inciting violence and murder and another life sentence by a military court on April 2013 for violent repression of protests in Sfax.
In November 2016, Ben Ali made a new statement via the office of his lawyer, Mounir Ben Salha, acknowledging his regime made "errors, abuses and violations” during his rule. His statement comes as a reaction to the public hearing sessions made by the Truth and Dignity Commission in Tunisia.
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