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From 1980 to 1984 Ben Ali served in an important post as Tunisian ambassador to Poland
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and in 1984 he was recalled to Tunis to assume the post of head of national security.
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Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, prime minister of Tunisia, announced on state television that he had assumed the duties of president.
Bourguiba's health was at a point where he could no longer make rational decisions on a continual basis, and on November 7, 1987, Ben Ali simply removed the old man, placing him under house arrest. -
In 1994 Ben Ali was re-elected president in an unopposed election.
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In October 1999, Ben Ali was elected to his third term as president of Tunisia. Although two other candidates were in the race, Ben Ali captured more than 99 percent of the votes.
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He repeated this performance throughout the 2000s winning reelections with large majorities, including his fifth term win in 2009.
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Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire to protest
In December 2010, twenty-six year old Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire to protest his mistreatment at the hands of Tunisian government officials. This sparked mass protests throughout the country that were sustained by social media and popular anger directed at the ruling elite. Ben Ali was accused of suppressing political dissidents and amassing a personal fortune with public money. Ben Ali eventually promised government reforms and declared he would not run again for the presidency. This f -
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after Ben Ali and his wife had settled in Saudi Arabia,
In mid-February of 2011, after Ben Ali and his wife had settled in Saudi Arabia, Ben Ali suffered a stroke and was comatose. Reports of his health after the coma were not confirmed by the Tunisia government, but were reported in Saudi Arabia's newspapers. Tunisia requested that Saudi Arabia extradite the couple, but Saudi Arabia refused the request. As Ben Ali and his wife continued to live in exile, his trial went on without him in Tunisia. In June of 2011, a jury found him guilty of embezzleme