Zine el Abidine Ben Ali will be remembered as the first leader to be toppled in what became known as the Arab Spring. After nearly 24 years in power, he became the former president of Tunisia.

Zine el Abidine ben Ali, who ruled Tunisia for 23 years before being ousted by bloody protests that unleashed revolt across the Arab world, has died.

The pivotal opportunity that Tunisia’s development presents for the Arab world and for its president brings to mind another Tunisian head of state, the legendary Habib Ben Ali Bourguiba.

A career soldier, Ben Ali took power on November 7, 1987 when he toppled Habib Bourguiba, the ailing father of Tunisian independence who was by then reported to be senile.

The party became a cult of personality around Ben Ali, who took power in 1987 as a reformer, but quickly proved himself more repressive than his predecessor, Habib Bourguiba.

Tunisian President for Life Habib Bourguiba, right, shakes hands in 1986 in Tunis with his prime minister, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, left (AFP) ...

Ousts father of independence On November 7, 1987, Ben Ali takes power after having Habib Bourguiba, the ailing father of Tunisian independence, declared mentally unfit to rule.

Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisian despot whose ouster helped spark Arab Spring, dies at 83 September 19, 2019 More than 5 years ago Tunisian President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali in 1987.