Tunisia’s First Freely Elected President Dies at 92

Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi died in a Tunis hospital on Thursday. He was 92. The veteran politician assumed the presidency in 2014, three years after the Arab Spring – which began in Tunis – toppled long-time despot Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and sparked revolts in several other Arab nations. Essebsi was hospitalised with a severe, yet undisclosed, ailment in late June and was rushed back to intensive care early on Thursday. Before becoming the North African country’s first democratically elected president, he served as an adviser to Habib Bourguiba, considered father of Tunisia’s independence from France. He held several key positions under Bourguiba and later under Ben Ali, including defense minister, interior minister and director-general of the national police. He became prime minister after the 2011 uprising and organized parliamentary elections later that year. Last April, Essebsi announced he would make way for someone younger to run in the upcoming November 17 presidential election.