EncyclopediaBen Ali, Zine el-Abidine
Ben Ali, Zine el-Abidine (zē'nel abidēn ben älē') [key], 1936–, president of Tunisia (1987–). Educated in France and the United States, he entered the army and became minister of national security (1984–86) and interior minister (1986–87). In Oct., 1987, he became prime minister under the aging Tunisian president Habib Bourguiba, whom he deposed in a bloodless coup on Nov. 8, 1987. Ben Ali was elected president in 1989 and reelected in 1994, 1999, and 2004, but the elections have been marked by a lack of real opposition and government intimidation. He had a moderating influence on the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO leaders lived in Tunisia for 10 years) and has been a supporter of attempts at reaching peace with Israel. Domestically, he has continued to develop a relatively secular, Westernized, and increasingly middle-class nation.
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