Tunisian President dies at age 92
Written by Millennium on July 25, 2019
Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi has died at the age of 92, the president’s office reported on Thursday.
“President of the republic Beji Caid Essebsi passed away on Tuesday morning, July 25, 2019, at 10 hours and 25 minutes in a hospital in Tunis,” the statement of the office was published on its official Facebook page.
According to Tunisia’s TAP agency, he was hospitalized yesterday due to a health scare.
In late June, the president was already admitted to the hospital for a few days.
Essebsi headed the country since 2014.
The Saudi Al Arabiya TV channel reports that Mohamed Ennaceur, the President of the Tunisian Parliament, will become the temporary acting president (for a term of 45-90 days).
Essebsi was a former lawyer who studied and trained in the French capital Paris. During his long political career, he also served as interior minister and speaker of parliament.
He rose to prominence after former Tunisian President Zine el-Abedine Ben Ali was ousted in 2011 after 23 years in office.
As president, Essebsi largely maintained stability in Tunisia. But critics said his government was too authoritarian in its response to security challenges.
Tunisia has won praise as the only democracy to emerge from the revolutions of the so-called Arab spring.
But in recent years the country has suffered attacks by Islamists and economic problems, with unemployment a persistent issue.
Source: TASS/BBC
