Biography of Tunisian president Essebsi

Beci Caid Essebsi, who died earlier Thursday at a military hospital in Tunis, was the fifth President of Tunisia from December 2014 until his death.

In December 2014, he won the first regular presidential election following the Tunisian Revolution, becoming Tunisia's first freely elected president.

Essebsi was the founder of the Nidaa Tounes political party, which won a plurality in the 2014 parliamentary election.

Previously he served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1981 to 1986 and as Prime Minister from February 2011 to December 2011.

Essebsi was born on November 29, 1926 in Sidi Bou Said, northern Tunis.

Essebsi's first involvement in politics came in 1941, when he joined the Neo Destour youth organization in Hammam-Lif.

He studied law in Paris and became a lawyer in 1952 at the Tunis bar, where he began his career with the defense of Neo Destour activists.

He was a follower of Tunisia's post-independence leader Habib Bourguiba. He then joined Bourguiba as an adviser following the country's independence from France in 1956.

From 1957 to 1971, he performed various functions such as director of the regional administration, general director of the Sûreté nationale, Interior Minister from July 1965 to September 1969, Minister-Delegate to the Prime Minister, Defense Minister from November 1969 to June 1970, and then Ambassador in Paris.

In April 1981, he came back to the government under Mohamed Mzali as Minister of Foreign Affairs, serving until September 1986.

From 1990 to 1991, he was the President of the Chamber of Deputies.

On February 27, 2011, Tunisian Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi resigned following a day of clashes in Tunis. On the same day, acting President Fouad Mebazaa appointed Caïd Essebsi as the new Prime Minister.

On December 22, 2014, official election results showed that Essebsi had defeated incumbent President Moncef Marzouki in the second round of voting, receiving 55.68% of the vote.

Essebsi was sworn in as President on December 31, 2014 at the age of 88.