A member of the struggle for Tunisian independence, Zine el Abidine Ben Ali (born 1936) held many posts in the new government, rising to the position of prime minister in 1987. On November 7, 1987, he removed the aging and infirm President Habib Bourguiba from office, assuming the position of president.

On November 7, 1987, Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, prime minister of Tunisia, announced on state television that he had assumed the duties of president. He had removed the aged, ill Habib Bourguiba from the presidency, citing mental infirmity as the main reason for his action. Bourguiba had been the chief architect of Tunisian independence from France in 1956 and had led the moderate Arab state as its president since that time. However, the Tunisian ship of state seemed to flounder as Bourguiba aged and lost control of the governmental and political mechanisms which made Tunisia a respected Arab nation. There appeared to be...