List of Presidents of Tunisia

Last updated July 29, 2019

This page lists the holders of the office of President of Tunisia and those who have acted in that capacity in the absence of a sworn President.

President of Tunisia head of state of Tunisia

The President of Tunisia, formally known as the President of the Republic of Tunisia, is the head of state of Tunisia. Tunisia is a semi-presidential republic, whereby the president is the head of state and the prime minister is head of government. Under Article 77 of the Constitution of Tunisia, the president is also the commander-in-chief of the Tunisian Armed Forces.

Background

Tunisia has had six Presidents since the proclamation of the republic on 25 July 1957:

Habib Bourguiba was appointed President by the parliament on 25 July 1957, until the election of a permanent president. After the Constitution was enacted on 1 June 1959, a presidential election was held on 8 November 1959. Being the only one running for office, he gained 91% of the votes to serve a five-year term. He was elected unopposed three more times. Shortly after winning his fourth full term, he was proclaimed President for Life. He remained in office until being deposed in the coup d'état of 7 November 1987, organized by his Prime Minister Ben Ali.
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was Prime Minister and Interior Minister under Bourguiba. Ben Ali had Bourguiba declared medically unfit to serve 7 November 1987. Per the Constitution, he became acting president pending new elections. Ben Ali was elected unopposed for a full five-year term on 2 April 1989, and was reelected three more times (the first time unopposed). On 14 January 2011, his regime fell in the Tunisian Revolution that started on 17 December 2010. Mohamed Ghannouchi, his Prime Minister, claimed the presidency, serving as acting President.
Fouad Mebazaa was designated by the Constitutional Council to serve as Interim President on 15 January 2011. Under Article 57 of the Constitution, an election should have taken place between 45 and 60 days following Mebazaa's appointment. But on 3 March 2011, he announced the repeal of the 1959 Constitution and the election of a constituent assembly which had to draft a new one. Therefore, he remained Interim President pending new elections.
Moncef Marzouki was elected President by the Tunisian Constituent Assembly on 12 December 2011. The next day, he was inaugurated, making him the first president not to be member of the ruling party. During the 2014 presidential election, he was defeated by former Prime Minister Caid Essebsi and left office on 31 December 2014.
Beji Caid Essebsi became the first president to be elected by universal suffrage after the Revolution, on 21 December 2014. On 31 December 2014, he took office as the fourth president of Tunisia, and the first to be freely elected. He died on 25 July 2019, and was succeeded by Mohamed Ennaceur as Interim President.
Mohamed Ennaceur became Interim President in accordance with Articles 84 and 85 of the Constitution on 25 July 2019, following the death in office of President Beji Caid Essebsi. He is to hold the powers and duties of the presidency for no more than 90 days, during which an early presidential election must be held.

Habib Ben Ali Bourguiba was a Tunisian lawyer, nationalist leader and statesman who served as the country's leader from independence in 1956 to 1987. He first served as the second Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Tunisia before proclaiming the Tunisian Republic in 1957 and thus becoming the first President of Tunisia. Prior to that, he played a major role in obtaining independence from France, ending the 75 year-old protectorate and earning the title of "Supreme Combatant".

General elections were held in Tunisia on 8 November 1959 to elect a President and Chamber of Deputies, following the promulgation of a new constitution on 1 June. They were also the first elections held since the proclamation of a republic in 1957.

The 1987 Tunisian coup d'état involved the bloodless ousting of the ageing President of Tunisia Habib Bourguiba on 7 November 1987, and his replacement as President by his recently appointed Prime Minister, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. The action was justified by reference to Bourguiba's failing health and Article 57 of the country's constitution. Reports later surfaced to indicate that the Italian intelligence services had been involved in planning it.

List

Status

Denotes Acting President

Neo Destour/SDP/DCR (2) Congress for the Republic (1) Nidaa Tounes (1)
No.	Portrait	President		Time in office	Party	Term
1			Habib Bourguiba 3 August 1903 – 6 April 2000 (aged 96) President of the Republic	25 July 1957 – 7 November 1987	Neo-Destour	I ^[1]	25 July 1957 – 8 November 1959
					Neo-Destour	1 (1959)	8 November 1959 – 8 November 1964
					SDP	2 (1964)	8 November 1964 – 2 November 1969
						3 (1969)	2 November 1969 – 3 November 1974
						4 (1974) ^[2]	3 November 1974 – 7 November 1987
2			Zine El Abidine Ben Ali Born: (1936-09-03) 3 September 1936 (age 82) President of the Republic	7 November 1987 – 15 January 2011	SDP	A ^[3]	7 November 1987 – 2 April 1989
					DCR	1 (1989)	2 April 1989 – 20 March 1994
						2 (1994)	20 March 1994 – 24 October 1999
						3 (1999)	24 October 1999 – 24 October 2004
						4 (2004)	24 October 2004 – 12 November 2009
						5 (2009)^[4]	12 November 2009^[5] – 15 January 2011
3			Fouad Mebazaa Born: (1933-06-15) 15 June 1933 (age 86) Interim President of the Republic	15 January 2011 – 13 December 2011	DCR ^[6]	I ^[7]	15 January 2011 – 13 December 2011
3				15 January 2011 – 13 December 2011	Non-partisan	I ^[7]	15 January 2011 – 13 December 2011
4			Moncef Marzouki Born: (1945-07-07) 7 July 1945 (age 74) President of the Republic	13 December 2011 – 31 December 2014	Congress for the Republic	I ^[8]	13 December 2011 – 31 December 2014
5			Beji Caid Essebsi 29 November 1926 – 25 July 2019 (aged 92) President of the Republic	31 December 2014 – 25 July 2019 (Died in office; term would have expired on 31 December 2019)	Nidaa Tounes	1 (2014)	31 December 2014 – 25 July 2019
–			Mohamed Ennaceur Born: (1934-03-21) 21 March 1934 (age 85) Interim President of the Republic	25 July 2019 – present (Term expires on or before 23 October 2019)	Nidaa Tounes	I ^[9]	25 July 2019 – present
6			TBD President of the Republic	by 23 October 2019		1 (2019)	by 23 October 2019

Rank by time in office

Rank	President	Time in office
1	Habib Bourguiba	30 years, 105 days
2	Zine El Abidine Ben Ali	23 years, 68 days
3	Beji Caid Essebsi	4 years, 206 days
4	Moncef Marzouki	3 years, 18 days
5	Fouad Mebazaa (Interim)	332 days
6	Mohamed Ennaceur (Interim)	3 days

Living former Presidents

There are three living former Tunisian Presidents:

Zine El Abidine Ben Ali
(1987–2011)
(1936-09-03) 3 September 1936 (age 82)
Fouad Mebazaa
(Interim)
(2011)
(1933-06-15) 15 June 1933 (age 86)
Moncef Marzouki
(2011–14)
(1945-07-07) 7 July 1945 (age 74)

Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, commonly known as Ben Ali, is a Tunisian former politician who served as President of Tunisia from 1987 until his ousting in 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 re-election was on 25 October 2009.

Fouad Mebazaa is a Tunisian politician who was President of Tunisia from 15 January 2011 to 13 December 2011. He was active in Neo Destour prior to Tunisian independence, served as Minister of Youth and Sports, Minister of Public Health, and Minister of Culture and Information, and was President of the Chamber of Deputies of Tunisia from 1991 to 2011.

Mohamed Moncef Marzouki is a Tunisian politician who was President of Tunisia from 2011 to 2014. Through his career he has been a human rights activist, physician and politician. On 12 December 2011, he was elected as President of Tunisia by the Constituent Assembly.

Timeline

Footnotes

↑ On 25 July the National Constituent assembly proclaimed the republic. Prime Minister Bourguiba thus was designated by the parliament as President of the Republic until the election of a new president, after drafting the constitution.
↑ During this term, Bourguiba proclaimed himself President for Life and served in that capacity until he was deposed in the 1987 coup d'état.
↑ Following the 1987 coup d'état, Prime Minister Ben Ali took office as Acting President of Tunisia until the election of a permanent president.
↑ During this term, Ben Ali was deposed in the Tunisian Revolution.
↑ http://www.businessnews.com.tn/tunisie--ben-ali-prate-serment-et-annonce-des-mesures-historiques,519,19322,1
↑ Mebazaa left the party leadership on January 18 while the DCR was dissolved on 9 March 2011.
↑ Fouad Mebazaa was appointed the 3rd President of Tunisia in an interim capacity on 15 January 2011. Under Article 57 of the Constitution, an election should have taken place between 45 and 60 days following Mebazaa's appointment. But on 3 March 2011, he announced the repeal of the 1959 Constitution and the election of a constituent assembly which had to draft a new one. Therefore, he continued as interim President until the election of a permanent President. Thus, instead of taking office for 45 to 60 days, he was President for nearly a year.
↑ Marzouki was elected by the National Constituent Assembly as interim President of Tunisia until the drafting of a new constitution and the election of a permanent president.
↑ Mohamed Ennaceur, as Speaker of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People, became Interim president of the Republic following the death of President Beji Caid Essebsi on 25 July 2019. He is due to serve until an early election takes place and is to remain in office until 23 October 2019 at the latest.

External links

World Statesmen - Tunisia

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[1] On 25 July the National Constituent assembly proclaimed the republic. Prime Minister Bourguiba thus was designated by the parliament as President of the Republic until the election of a new president, after drafting the constitution.

[2] During this term, Bourguiba proclaimed himself President for Life and served in that capacity until he was deposed in the 1987 coup d'état.

[3] Following the 1987 coup d'état, Prime Minister Ben Ali took office as Acting President of Tunisia until the election of a permanent president.

[4] During this term, Ben Ali was deposed in the Tunisian Revolution.

[5] ttp://www.businessnews.com.tn/tunisie--ben-ali-prate-serment-et-annonce-des-mesures-historiques,519,19322,1

[6] Mebazaa left the party leadership on January 18 while the DCR was dissolved on 9 March 2011.

[7] Fouad Mebazaa was appointed the 3rd President of Tunisia in an interim capacity on 15 January 2011. Under Article 57 of the Constitution, an election should have taken place between 45 and 60 days following Mebazaa's appointment. But on 3 March 2011, he announced the repeal of the 1959 Constitution and the election of a constituent assembly which had to draft a new one. Therefore, he continued as interim President until the election of a permanent President. Thus, instead of taking office for 45 to 60 days, he was President for nearly a year.

[8] Marzouki was elected by the National Constituent Assembly as interim President of Tunisia until the drafting of a new constitution and the election of a permanent president.

[9] Mohamed Ennaceur, as Speaker of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People, became Interim president of the Republic following the death of President Beji Caid Essebsi on 25 July 2019. He is due to serve until an early election takes place and is to remain in office until 23 October 2019 at the latest.