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
Mohammed El Alaoui Mohammed El Alaoui "Sharif" Sidi Mohammed Alaoui (, born 7 July 1974 in Tangiers) is an Alaouite sharif and the current Chamberlain () of king Mohammed VI. He is reportedly a very close friend of the monarch, in addition to being his distant Alaouite cousin. Sharif Sidi Mohammed Alaoui is the son of "Sharif Moulay Zine El Abidine Alaoui" (Alaouite sharif and diplomat) and "Sharifa Lalla Oum Keltoum Alaoui". His mother Lalla Oum Keltoum is the daughter of "Prince Moulay El Hassan ben El Mehdi, the son of Sultan Mohammed IV (r. 1859-1873) and "Princess Lalla Fatima Zohra Azizia", the