Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, commonly known as Ben Ali or Ezzine (الزين), was a Tunisian politician who served as the second president of Tunisia from 1987 to 2011. In that year, during the Tunisian revolution, he was overthrown and fled to Saudi Arabia.
Ben Ali in 2008
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.
The president of Tunisia, officially the president of the Republic of Tunisia, is the head of state since the creation of the position on 25 July 1957. In this capacity, he exercises executive power with the assistance of a government headed by the Prime Minister in a presidential system. According to Article 87 of the 2022 Constitution, he is the commander-in-chief of the Tunisian Armed Forces. Under the Constitution, the president is elected by direct universal suffrage for a term of five years, renewable once.
President of Tunisia
Image: Portrait Habib Bourguiba
Image: Zine El Abidine Ben Ali
Image: Fouad Mebazaa 2011 11 22