Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, زين العابدين بن علي‎

Zine El Abidine Ben Ali زين العابدين بن علي
2nd President of Tunisia
In office 7 November 1987 – 14 January 2011
Prime Minister	Hédi Baccouche Hamed Karoui Mohamed Ghannouchi
Preceded by	Habib Bourguiba
Succeeded by	Mohamed Ghannouchi(Acting)
Prime Minister of Tunisia
In office 2 October 1987 – 7 November 1987
President	Habib Bourguiba
Preceded by	Rachid Sfar
Succeeded by	Hédi Baccouche
Born	3 September 1936 (age 74) Hammam-Sousse, French Tunisia
Political party	Constitutional Democratic Rally
Spouse(s)	Leïla Trabelsi
Alma mater	Special Military School of Saint Cyr School of Applied Artillery

Zine El Abidine Ben Ali (Arabic: زين العابدين بن علي‎ Zayn al-‘Ābidīn bin ‘Alī; born 3 September 1936) is a former president of the Republic of Tunisia, holding office from November 7, 1987 until he was forced to step down on January 14, 2011. He was appointed Prime Minister in October 1987, and assumed the Presidency in November 1987 in a bloodless coup d'etat from then President Habib Bourguiba who was declared incompetent. Ben Ali was subsequently re-elected with enormous majorities at every election, the last time being October 25, 2009. His resignation and subsequent flight marked the first time that street protests had toppled the leader of an Arab country.

The regime he led was deemed authoritarian and undemocratic by independent international human rights groups such as Amnesty International, Freedom House, and Protection International. They criticized Tunisian officials for not observing international standards of political rights and interfering with the work of local human rights organizations. In the The Economist's 2010 Democracy Index, Tunisia was classified as an authoritarian regime ranking 144th out of 167 countries studied. In 2008, in terms of freedom of the press, Tunisia was ranked 143 out of 173.

Education and military career

Ben Ali was born in Hammam-Sousse on 3 September 1936. While a student at Sousse Secondary School, Ben Ali joined the National resistance to French colonial rule serving as a liaison for the regional Neo-Destour party. For these activities, he was temporarily expelled from school and imprisoned.

Upon completion of secondary school, Ben Ali earned degrees from the Special Inter-service School in Saint-Cyr, France, the Artillery School in Châlons-sur-Marne, France, the Senior Intelligence School (Maryland, USA) and the School for Anti-Aircraft Field Artillery (Texas, USA). His professional military career began in 1964 as a Tunisian staff officer. During his time in military service, he established the Military Security Department and directed its operations for 10 years. He briefly served as military attaché to Morocco and Spain before being appointed General Director of National Security in 1977.

In 1980 he was appointed Ambassador to Warsaw, Poland, and served four years there. Ben Ali subsequently served as Minister of State in charge of the Interior before being appointed Interior Minister in 28 April 1986 then Prime Minister by President Habib Bourguiba in October 1987.

Rise to the presidency

Ben Ali ascended to the office of President on 7 November 1987, after attending physicians to the former president filed an official medical report declaring Habib Bourguiba medically incapacitated and unable to fulfill the duties of the presidency. In conformity with Article 57 of the Tunisian Constitution, the peaceful transition occurred as Tunisia was on the verge of economic collapse and a takeover of power by religious extremists. The country had faced 10% inflation, external debt accounting for 46% of GDP and a debt service ratio of 21% of GDP, in addition to a bombing campaign and attempted government overthrow, for which 76 members of the radical “Islamic Tendency Movement” were convicted in 1987.

Presidency

Politics

Large photogaphs of Ben Ali are found everywhere in Tunisia. Here at the Office of Merchant Navy and Ports building.

Tunisia held its first formally pluralistic legislative elections in 1994: opposition parties polled 2,25% and gained 19 of 163 seats in Parliament. Ben Ali, the only presidential candidate, was re-elected with 100% of the votes from a 95% turnout.

In 1999, Tunisia held the first multiparty presidential election in its history, with three presidential candidates appearing on the ballot; Ben Ali gathered 99.4% of the votes delivering 148 of the 182 parliamentary seats.

A constitutional referendum in 2002 established a two-chambered parliament, creating the Chamber of Advisers, and amended the upper age limit for a presidential candidate to 75 years old (previously 70).

Tunisia under Ben Ali saw problems with protecting human rights, such as freedom of the press, highlighted by the official treatment of the journalist Taoufik Ben Brik, who was harassed and imprisoned for his criticism of Ben Ali.

On October 25, 2009, Ben Ali was re-elected for a fifth term with a 89% share of the vote. The African Union sent a team of observers to cover the election. The delegation was led by Benjamin Bounkoulou who described the election as "free and fair". However, a spokesperson from the US State Department indicated that Tunisia had not permitted monitoring of the election by international observers, but that the U.S. was still committed to working with the president of Tunisia and the Tunisian government. There also were reports of mistreatment of an opposition candidate.

In December 2010 and January 2011, riots over unemployment escalated into a widespread popular protest movement against Ben Ali's government. On January 13, 2011, he announced he would not run for another term in 2014, and pledged steps to improve the economy and press freedom. The following day, however, thousands demonstrated in the center of Tunis, demanding Ben Ali's immediate resignation. On January 14th, 2011, Ben Ali reportedly fled the country and a caretaker ruling committee headed by Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi was announced.

Economy

As president, Ben Ali championed economic reforms that strengthened Tunisia’s economy and increased foreign investment. Since he ascended to the office of President, Tunisia’s per capita GDP more than tripled from $1,201 in 1986 to $3,786 in 2008. Although, growth in 2002 slowed to a 15-year low of 1.9% due to drought and lackluster tourism, better conditions after 2003 helped push growth to about 5% of GDP. For about 20 years after 1987, the GDP annual growth averaged nearly 5%. A report published in July 2010 by the Boston Consulting Group (“The African Challengers: Global Competitors Emerge from the Overlooked Continent”) listed Tunisia as one of the African "Lions" and indicated the eight African lions account for 70 percent of the continent’s gross domestic product. Stable increases in GDP growth continued through positive trade relations with the European Union, a revitalized tourism industry and sustained agricultural production. Privatization, increasing foreign investment, improvements in government efficiency and reduction of the trade deficit presented challenges for the future. The 2010-2011 Global Competitiveness Report (Davos World Economic Forum) ranked Tunisia first in Africa and 32nd globally out of 139 countries.

According to the Oxford Business Group, Tunisia’s economy was likely to grow from 2008 due to its diversified industries. Committed to fighting poverty at home, Ben Ali instituted reforms including the National Solidarity Fund which slashed the Tunisian poverty rate from 7.4% in 1990 to an estimated 3.8% in 2005. The National Solidarity Fund was part of a dual strategy to fight current and potential terrorism through economic assistance, development and the rule of law. The fund provided opportunities to those living in impoverished areas and are vulnerable to recruitment by terrorists. It was been a critical element in the fight against terrorism.

However, Tunisia continued to suffer from a high unemployment, especially among youth. Left out of the recent prosperity were many rural and urban poor, including small businesses facing the world market. This and the blocking of free speech was the cause of mass protests in December 2010-January 2011. It was the worst unrest the country has faced for at least a decade.

Diplomacy

During Ben Ali’s presidency, Tunisia pursued a moderate foreign policy promoting peaceful settlement of conflicts. Tunisia took a middle of the road approach contributing to peacemaking especially in the Middle East and Africa. Tunisia hosted the first-ever Palestinian American dialogue. While contributing actively to the Middle East peace process, Tunisian diplomacy has supported the Palestinian cause. As host to the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1982–1993, considerable efforts were made to moderate the views of the organization. Tunisia, since the early 90’s, called for a “concerted” international effort against terrorism. It was also a key US partner in the effort to fight global terrorism through the Trans-Saharan Counterterrorism Initiative.

President Ben Ali mostly retained his predecessor's pro-western foreign policy, though he improved ties with the Arab-Muslim world. He took several initiatives to promote solidarity, dialogue and cooperation among nations. President Ben Ali initiated the creation of the United Nations World Solidarity Fund to eradicate poverty and promote social development based on the successful experience of the Tunisian National Solidarity Fund. Ben Ali also played a lead role in the UN’s proclaiming 2010 as the International Year of Youth.

Resignation

In response to the 2010–2011 Tunisian protests, Ben Ali declared a state of emergency in the country, dissolved the government on January 14th, 2011 and promised new legislative elections within six months. But on that same day Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi went on state television to say he was assuming power in Tunisia. Ghannouchi announced the change on state television and said he was assuming presidential duties. Unconfirmed news reports, citing unidentified government sources in Tunisia, said that the President had left the country. He fled the country on January 14th at 4:00pm local time on a flight bound for Dubai.

Family

Ben Ali and his family are known for their corruption , which is why there have been recent protests all across Tunisia protesting the theft of Tunisian wealth, and lack of opportunities for average Tunisians. Many of Ben Ali's family members have left the country for reasons of personal safety.

Ben Ali’s wife and Tunisia’s former first lady Leïla Ben Ali is the current chair of the Basma Association, a group that promotes social integration and provides employment opportunities for the disabled. Leïla Ben Ali is also the president of the Arab Women Organization, that works to empower women to promote progress in Arab states. In July 2010, the first lady founded the “SAIDA” Association (named after her late mother) to improve care for cancer patients in Tunisia. Leïla Ben Ali has three children: Nesrine, Halima and Mohamed Zine El Abidine. Ben Ali also has three daughters from his first marriage: Ghazwa, Dorsaf and Cyrine.

(source:wikipedia)