List of presidents of Tunisia

The President of Tunisia is the head of state of Tunisia, directly elected to a five-year term by the people. The officeholder leads the executive branch of the Tunisian government along with the Prime Minister and is the commander-in-chief of the Tunisian Armed Forces.

Since the office was established in 1957, 7 men have served as president. The 7th and current president is Kais Saied since 23 October 2019. There are currently three living former presidents. The most recent former president to die was Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, on 19 September 2019.

The presidency of Mohamed Ennaceur, who assumed the office as acting president following the death of incumbent president Beji Caid Essebsi, was the shortest in Tunisian history (90 days). Habib Bourguiba, the inaugural holder, served the longest, over thirty years (1957–87), before he was removed from office by his prime minister Ben Ali, on 7 November 1987. Since the ratification of the Tunisian Constitution in 2014, no person may be elected president more than twice.

Of those who have served as the nation's president, only one died in office of natural causes (Beji Caid Essebsi), two were removed from office (Habib Bourguiba and Zine El Abidine Ben Ali) and two assumed the office as acting presidents (Fouad Mebazaa and Mohamed Ennaceur).

Background

Tunisia has had seven 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 acting 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 acting 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 fifth president of Tunisia, and the first to be freely elected. He died on 25 July 2019, and was succeeded by Mohamed Ennaceur as acting president.
Mohamed Ennaceur became acting president in accordance with Articles 84 and 85 of the constitution on 25 July 2019, following the death in office of President Essebsi. Per the constitution, Ennaceur was to serve as acting president for no more than 90 days, during which an early presidential election was to be held. An election had already been scheduled for November 2019, but was brought forward to September to ensure that a new president would be sworn in before the 90-day limit.
Kais Saied was elected in September 2019. He took office on 23 October as the second president (Marzouki being the first) who was not an heir to Bourguiba's legacy.

Presidents

Status

Denotes interim presidents

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 3 September 1936 – 19 September 2019 (aged 83) President of the Republic	7 November 1987 – 14 January 2011	SDP	– (1986) [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] – 14 January 2011
3			Fouad Mebazaa Born: (1933-06-15) 15 June 1933 Acting 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 President of the Republic	13 December 2011 – 31 December 2014	Congress for the Republic	1[8] (2011)	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
6			Mohamed Ennaceur Born: (1934-03-21) 21 March 1934 Acting president of the Republic	25 July 2019 – 23 October 2019	Nidaa Tounes	I [9]	25 July 2019 – 23 October 2019
7 [10] · [11]			Kais Saied Born: (1958-02-22) 22 February 1958 President of the Republic	23 October 2019 – Incumbent	Non-partisan	1 (2019)	23 October 2019 – present (Term expires on 23 October 2024)

Rank by time in office

Habib Bourguiba Longest presidency: 30 years, 105 days 1957–1987	Mohamed Ennaceur Shortest presidency: 90 days 2019–2019

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 (Acting President)	332 days
6	Kais Saied	243 days
7	Mohamed Ennaceur (Acting President)	90 days

Living former presidents

There are three living former Tunisian presidents:

Fouad Mebazaa
(Acting)
(2011)
(1933-06-15) 15 June 1933
Moncef Marzouki
(2011–14)
(1945-07-07) 7 July 1945
Mohamed Ennaceur
(Acting)
(2019)
(1934-03-21) 21 March 1934

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 President of Tunisia until the next general election.
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 President of Tunisia until the drafting of a new constitution and the election of a new 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.
"President Kais Saied رئيس الجمهورية قيس سعيد". Carthage.tn. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
The official website of the President of Tunisia considers Said to be the seventh to hold the office. There are no distinctions between elected and interim presidents.

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 President of Tunisia until the next general election.

[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 President of Tunisia until the drafting of a new constitution and the election of a new 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.

[10] "President Kais Saied رئيس الجمهورية قيس سعيد". Carthage.tn. Retrieved 29 April 2020.

[11] The official website of the President of Tunisia considers Said to be the seventh to hold the office. There are no distinctions between elected and interim presidents.