President of Tunisia He was removed from office in a coup d'état in 1987 by Prime Minister Zine El Abidine Ben Ali after being declared medically unfit to continue in office. Ben Ali ascended as acting president, was elected in his own right in 1989 and served until 2011, when he was forced from office during an uprising against his rule. The current president, Beji Caid Essebsi, was elected in the country's first free presidential election, held in December 2014. For most of its history as an independent state, Tunisia lacked political democracy in the Western sense, and saw widespread violations of human
Egyptian revolution of 2011 Arabic and not always attributed to him, were circulated in Tahrir Square during its occupation. Following the ousting of Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali after mass protests, many analysts (including former European Commission President Romano Prodi) saw Egypt as the next country where such a revolution might occur. According to "The Washington Post", "The Jasmine Revolution [...] should serve as a stark warning to Arab leaders – beginning with Egypt's 83-year-old Hosni Mubarak – that their refusal to allow more economic and political opportunity is dangerous and untenable." Others believed that Egypt was not ready for revolution, citing