Former Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali is survived by his wife Leila Trabelsi and six children. (AFP)
Former Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the first leader to be toppled by the Arab Spring revolts, died Thursday in Saudi Arabia, Tunisia’s foreign ministry told AFP. He was 83.
“We had confirmation of his death 30 minutes ago,” the ministry said on Thursday afternoon without giving further details.
His lawyer, Mounir Ben Salha, confirmed the news, citing family members and Ben Ali’s doctor.
Ben Ali, who ruled his North African country from 1987 until 2011, was viewed by some as a bulwark against Islamist extremism, but faced criticism for muzzling the opposition and his reluctance to embrace democracy.
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Eventually, growing frustration over unemployment and high prices snapped.
In late 2010, a young trader in Sidi Bouzid, in the impoverished center of the country, set fire to himself in protest at humiliation by police.
That sparked protests which rocked Tunisia and triggered a deadly clampdown.
But the protesters won: on 14 January 2011, Ben Ali fled Tunisia for Saudi Arabia.
His rapid departure sparked a string of similar uprisings across the region, toppling Egyptian and Libyan strongmen Hosni Mubarak and Moamer Kadhafi.
The turmoil also triggered what was to become Syria’s devastating eight-year war.
In mid-2012, Ben Ali was sentenced in absentia to life in jail for his role in the deaths of protesters during the uprising.
More than 300 people were killed in the initial repression of the protest movement.
Little verified information has emerged on Ben Ali’s life in exile.
Photos posted on Instagram in 2013 showed the former strongman smiling in striped pyjamas.
Rumors of his death had circulated several times in recent years.
A week ago, Ben Salha said the former president was in a “critical condition,” before denying reports that he had died.
“He is not dead, but his state of health is bad. He has left hospital and is currently being cared for at his home — his condition is stabilising,” the lawyer said at the time.
Prime Minister Youssef Chahed said last week that on humanitarian grounds Ben Ali could return to die in his own country — “like every Tunisian” — should he wish to do so.
It was not possible to ascertain immediately whether the former president’s funeral would take place in Saudi Arabia or in Tunisia.
