Mohamed Ghannouchi and from 1999 to 2011 he was the Prime Minister of Tunisia, making him the longest serving prime minister since the proclamation of independence, surpassing his predecessor Hamed Karoui. After the fall of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali on 14 January 2011 in the wake of the 2010–2011 Tunisian uprising, he was the self-proclaimed acting President of the country for a few hours starting on 14 January 2011, under Article 56 of the Constitution of Tunisia. He remained Prime Minister for six weeks before stepping down. In a 2006 diplomatic cable from the United States that was leaked by
Sadok Chaabane and the fast erasure of boundaries. On 1 July 1999 President Zine Al Abidine Ben Ali designated him to supervise his election campaign, which was a very significant experience for him. After the presidential campaign, on 17 November 1999, President Zine Al Abidine Ben Ali appointed him to one of the most important portfolios, Higher Education, under the Premiership of Mohamed Ghannouchi; on 4 September 2002, the department of Scientific Research was added to the Ministry, and the President of the Republic appointed him again to the Democratic Constitutional Rally’s Political Bureau. On 11 November 2004 he left the Government,