Zine El Abidine Ben Ali (Arabic: زين العابدين بن علي, Zīn al-‘Ābidīn bin ‘Alī; born 3 September 1936) is a Tunisian political figure who was the second President of Tunisia from 1987 to 2011. Ben Ali was appointed Prime Minister in October 1987, and he assumed the Presidency on 7 November 1987 in a bloodless coup d'état that ousted President Habib Bourguiba, who was declared incompetent. Ben Ali was subsequently reelected with enormous majorities, each time exceeding 90% of the vote; the final reelection was on 25 October 2009.
On 14 January 2011, following a month of protests against his rule, he was forced to flee to Saudi Arabia along with his wife Leïla Ben Ali and their three children. The interim Tunisian government asked for Interpol to issue an international arrest warrant, charging him for money laundering and drug trafficking. He and his wife were sentenced in absentia to 35 years in prison on 20 June 2011. In June 2012, Ben Ali has been sentenced to life imprisonment in absentia for inciting violence and murder.
Read more about Zine El Abidine Ben Ali: Education and Military Career, Rise To The Presidency, Ousted From The Presidency, Family, Health, Foreign Honours
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