List of presidents of Tunisia facts for kids

The president of Tunisia is like the main leader of Tunisia. They are the head of state, chosen directly by the people every five years. This leader is in charge of the government's executive part, working with the prime minister. They are also the top commander of the Tunisian Armed Forces, which means they lead the country's military.

Since the job of president started in 1957, five different men have held the position. The current president is Kais Saied, who began his term on October 23, 2019. Three former presidents are still alive today. The most recent former president to pass away was Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, on September 19, 2019.

The shortest time anyone served as president was Mohamed Ennaceur, who was an acting president for 90 days. He took over after the death of President Beji Caid Essebsi. The very first president, Habib Bourguiba, served the longest, for over thirty years (1957–1987). He was removed from office by his prime minister, Ben Ali, on November 7, 1987. Since Tunisia's new Constitution was approved in 2014, a person can only be elected president two times.

Out of all the presidents, only one died while in office due to natural causes (Beji Caid Essebsi). Two presidents were removed from their position (Habib Bourguiba and Zine El Abidine Ben Ali). Also, two people became acting presidents temporarily (Fouad Mebazaa and Mohamed Ennaceur).

Tunisia's Presidents: A Quick Look

Tunisia has had seven presidents since it became a republic on July 25, 1957. Here's a brief overview of each one:

Habib Bourguiba: The First President

• Habib Bourguiba was chosen by the parliament to be president on July 25, 1957. This was until a permanent president could be elected. After the Constitution was set up on June 1, 1959, a presidential election was held on November 8, 1959. He was the only person running and won 91% of the votes for a five-year term. He was elected three more times without anyone running against him. After winning his fourth full term, he was named president for life. He stayed in office until he was removed in a coup d'état (a sudden takeover of government) on November 7, 1987. This was organized by his prime minister, Ben Ali.

Zine El Abidine Ben Ali: Taking Over

• Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was the prime minister and interior minister under Bourguiba. Ben Ali had Bourguiba declared medically unable to serve on November 7, 1987. According to the constitution, Ben Ali became acting president until new elections. Ben Ali was elected for a full five-year term on April 2, 1989, again with no one running against him. He was reelected three more times. On January 14, 2011, his government fell during the Tunisian Revolution. This revolution started on December 17, 2010. Mohamed Ghannouchi, his prime minister, claimed the presidency as acting president for a very short time.

Fouad Mebazaa: An Interim Leader

• Fouad Mebazaa was chosen by the Constitutional Council to be acting president on January 15, 2011. The constitution said an election should happen within 45 to 60 days. But on March 3, 2011, he announced that the 1959 constitution was canceled. He also said a new assembly would be elected to write a new constitution. So, he remained acting president until new elections could be held.

Moncef Marzouki: A New Kind of President

• Moncef Marzouki was elected president by the Tunisian Constituent Assembly on December 12, 2011. The next day, he officially started his job. This made him the first president who was not part of the main ruling party. During the 2014 presidential election, he lost to former prime minister Caid Essebsi. He left office on December 31, 2014.

Beji Caid Essebsi: First Freely Elected

• Beji Caid Essebsi became the first president chosen by universal suffrage (meaning everyone could vote) after the revolution. This happened on December 21, 2014. On December 31, 2014, he became the fifth president of Tunisia. He was the first to be freely elected. He passed away on July 25, 2019. Mohamed Ennaceur then became acting president.

Mohamed Ennaceur: Shortest Term

• Mohamed Ennaceur became acting president on July 25, 2019. This was because President Beji Caid Essebsi died while in office. According to the constitution, Ennaceur was to be acting president for no more than 90 days. During this time, an early presidential election had to be held. An election was already planned for November 2019. But it was moved up to September to make sure a new president was sworn in before the 90-day limit.

Kais Saied: The Current President

• Kais Saied was elected in September 2019. He took office on October 23. He is the second president (Marzouki was the first) who was not linked to Bourguiba's past leadership.

Presidents of Tunisia

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office	Party		Election	Notes
1		Habib Bourguiba (1903–2000)	25 July 1957 – 7 November 1987		Neo-Destour	Interim	Parliament ended the monarchy and chose Prime Minister Bourguiba as temporary president.
						1959	Bourguiba won Tunisia's first presidential election.
					SDP	1964	Bourguiba won his second presidential term.
						1969	Bourguiba won his third and last presidential term allowed by the constitution.
						1974	After this election, Bourguiba declared himself president for life.
2		Zine El Abidine Ben Ali (1936–2019)	7 November 1987 – 14 January 2011		SDP	Interim	After the 1987 coup, Prime Minister Ben Ali became temporary president.
					DCR	1989	Ben Ali won the first presidential election in 15 years.
						1994	Ben Ali won his second presidential term.
						1999	Ben Ali won his third presidential term. This was Tunisia's first election with more than one candidate.
						2004	Ben Ali won his fourth presidential term. This was allowed after a vote to change the constitution.
						2009	Ben Ali won his fifth and last presidential term before he was removed from office.
3		Fouad Mebazaa (b. 1933)	15 January 2011 – 13 December 2011		DCR	Interim	Mebazaa, as speaker of Parliament, became temporary president after Ben Ali was removed.
					Independent		Mebazaa's time as president was extended. This was until a Constituent Assembly could be elected after the old constitution was canceled.
4		Moncef Marzouki (b. 1945)	13 December 2011 – 31 December 2014		CFR	2011	Marzouki was not directly elected by the people. He was chosen temporarily by the Constituent Assembly until the next election.
5		Beji Caid Essebsi (1926–2019)	31 December 2014 – 25 July 2019 †		Nidaa Tounes	2014	Essebsi won the first election that used a two-round voting system. He was the first president to die while in office.
6		Mohamed Ennaceur (b. 1934)	25 July 2019 – 23 October 2019		Nidaa Tounes	Interim	Ennaceur, as speaker of Parliament, became temporary president after President Beji Caid Essebsi died.
7		Kais Saied (b. 1958)	23 October 2019 – Incumbent		Independent	2019	Saied won the first presidential election where a presidential debate was held.
						2024	Saied won his second presidential term. He is the first president to be reelected in 15 years.

How Long Each President Served

Habib Bourguiba Longest presidency: 30 years, 105 days 1957–1987

Mohamed Ennaceur Shortest presidency: 90 days 2019

Timeline of Tunisian Presidents

See also

In Spanish: Anexo:Presidentes de Túnez para niños

• Politics of Tunisia
• List of beys of Tunis
• List of French residents-general in Tunisia
• President of Tunisia
  • First Lady of Tunisia
• Prime Minister of Tunisia
  • List of prime ministers of Tunisia