Beji Caid Essebsi (or es-Sebsi; , ; 29 November 1926 – 25 July 2019) was a Tunisian

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

who served as the fourth

president of Tunisia The president of Tunisia, officially the president of the Republic of Tunisia (), is the executive head of state of Tunisia. The president exercises executive power with the assistance of a government headed by the Prime Minister of Tunisia, pr ...

from 31 December 2014 until his death on 25 July 2019. Previously, he served as

minister of foreign affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

from 1981 to 1986 and

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

from February to December 2011. Essebsi's political career spanned six decades, culminating in his leadership of Tunisia in its

transition to democracy Democratization, or democratisation, is the structural government transition from an authoritarian government to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction. Whether and to what ...

.Carlotta Gall & Lilia Blaise
Béji Caïd Essebsi, President Who Guided Tunisia to Democracy, Dies at 92
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' (25 July 2019). Essebsi was the founder of the

Nidaa Tounes Nidaa Tounes ( ', ; usually translated as "Call of Tunisia", "Call for Tunisia", or "Tunisia's Call") is a big tent secularist political party in Tunisia. After being founded in 2012, the party won a plurality of seats in the October 2014 p ...

political party, which won a plurality in the 2014 parliamentary election. In December 2014, he won the first regular

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...

following the Tunisian Revolution, becoming Tunisia's first democratically elected president.

Early life

Born in 1926, in

Sidi Bou Said Sidi Bou Said ( ') is a town in northern Tunisia located about 20 km northeast from the capital, Tunis. Named after a religious figure who lived there, Abu Said al-Baji, it was previously called Jbel el-Menar. The town itself is a tourist ...

to an elite family originally from

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

(

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

), he was the great-grandson of Ismail Caïd Essebsi, a Sardinian kidnapped by

Barbary corsairs The Barbary corsairs, Barbary pirates, Ottoman corsairs, or naval mujahideen (in Muslim sources) were mainly Muslim corsairs and privateers who operated from the largely independent Barbary states. This area was known in Europe as the Barba ...

in the

Beylik of Tunis The Beylik of Tunis () was a de facto independent state located in present-day Tunisia, formally part of the Ottoman Empire. It was ruled by the Husainid dynasty from 1705 until the establishment of the French protectorate of Tunisia in 1881. T ...

along the coasts of the island at the beginning of the nineteenth century, who then became a mamluk leader (he was raised with the ruling family after converting to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

and was later recognized as a free man when he became an important member of the government).

Political career

Essebsi's first involvement in politics came in 1941, when he joined the

Neo Destour The New Constitutional Liberal Party (, '; French: ''Nouveau Parti libéral constitutionnel''), most commonly known as Neo Destour, was a Tunisian political party founded in 1934 in Dar Ayed, the house of independence activist Ahmed Ayed, by a g ...

youth organization in Hammam-Lif. He went to France in 1950 to study law in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. He began his career as a lawyer defending Neo-Destour activists. Essebsi later joined Tunisia's leader

Habib Bourguiba Habib Bourguiba (3 August 19036 April 2000) was a Tunisian politician and statesman who served as the Head of Government of Tunisia, prime minister of the Kingdom of Tunisia from 1956 to 1957, and then as the first president of Tunisia from 1 ...

as a supporter of the Tunisian separatist movement and later as his adviser following the country's independence from France in 1956. Essebsi, a protégé of Bourguiba, held various posts under Bourguiba from 1957 to 1971, including chief of the regional administration, general director of the ''Sûreté nationale'', Interior Minister in 1965, Minister-Delegate to the Prime Minister, Defense Minister in 1969, and then Ambassador to Paris. From October 1971 to January 1972, he advocated greater democracy in Tunisia and resigned his function, then returning to Tunis. In April 1981, he came back to the government under Mohamed Mzali as

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

, serving until September 1986. In 1987, he switched allegiance following Ben Ali's removal of Bourguiba from power. He was appointed as Ambassador to West Germany. From 1990 to 1991, he was the Speaker of the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

Interim Prime Minister in 2011

On 27 February 2011, in the aftermath of the Tunisian Revolution that ousted long-serving leader Ben Ali, Tunisian Prime Minister

Mohamed Ghannouchi Mohamed Ghannouchi (; born 18 August 1941) is a Tunisian politician who was Prime Minister of Tunisia from 1999 to 2011. Regarded as a technocrat, Ghannouchi was a long-standing figure in the Tunisian government under President Zine El Abidine B ...

then resigned following a day of clashes in

Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

with five protesters being killed. On the same day, acting President

Fouad Mebazaa Fouad Mebazaa (; 15 June 1933 – 23 April 2025) was a Tunisian politician who was the acting president of Tunisia from 15 January 2011 to 13 December 2011. He was active in Neo Destour prior to Tunisian independence, served as Minister of Youth ...

appointed Caïd Essebsi as the new Prime Minister, describing him as "a person with an impeccable political and private life, known for his profound patriotism, his loyalty and his self-sacrifice in serving his country." The mostly young protesters continued taking their discontent to the streets, criticizing the unilateral appointment of Essebsi without further consultation. Essesbi nevertheless has been described as someone who had "remained at a distance from Ben Ali" since his leaving politics in 1991, a move significant for "contribut ngto his credibility and acceptance" in the years following the 2011 revolution, the post-Ben Ali era. On 5 May accusations of the former Interior Minister Farhat Rajhi that a coup d'etat was being prepared against the possibility of the Islamic party Ennahda Party winning the Constituent Assembly election in October. This, again, led to several days of fierce anti-Government protests and clashes on the streets. In the interview disseminated on

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

, Rajhi called Caïd Essebsi a "liar", whose government had been manipulated by the old Ben Ali circles. Caïd Essebsi strongly rejected Rajhi's accusations as "dangerous and irresponsible lies, imed at spreadingchaos in the country" and also dismissed him from his post as director of the High Commission for Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which he had retained after being dismissed from the office as Interior Minister already on 8 March. Nevertheless, Ennahda's president Rached Ghannouchi further fueled the suspicions, stating that "Tunisians doubt the credibility of the Transitional Government." After the elections in October, Caïd Essebsi left office on 24 December 2011 when the new Interim President Moncef Marzouki appointed

Hamadi Jebali Hamadi Jebali (, '; born 12 January 1949) is a Tunisian engineer, politician, and journalist who was Prime Minister of Tunisia from December 2011 to March 2013. He was the Secretary-General of the Ennahda Movement, a moderate Islamic party in Tun ...

of the Islamist Ennahda, which had become the largest parliamentary group.

2014 elections

Following his departure from office, Caïd Essebsi founded the secular

party, which won a plurality of the seats in the October 2014 parliamentary election. He was also the party's candidate in the country's first free presidential elections, in November 2014. On 22 December 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. After the polls closed the previous day, Essebsi said on local television that he dedicated his victory to "the martyrs of Tunisia".

President of Tunisia

Essebsi was sworn in as president on 31 December 2014 at the age of 88, he was the first freely elected president of modern Tunisia. He played a vital role in helping ensure that, more than any other Arab state, the North African country preserved many of the essential gains of the

Arab spring The Arab Spring () was a series of Nonviolent resistance, anti-government protests, Rebellion, uprisings, and Insurgency, armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began Tunisian revolution, in Tunisia ...

movement, which began in Tunisia originally. He vowed on the occasion of his swearing-in to "be president of all Tunisian men and women without exclusion" and stressed the importance of "consensus among all parties and social movements". On 3 August 2016, Essebsi appointed

Youssef Chahed Youssef Chahed (; born 18 September 1975) is a Tunisian politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Tunisia from 27 August 2016 to 27 February 2020. He served as Secretary of State for Fisheries and Minister of Local Affairs in the past ...

as a prime minister as the parliament withdrew confidence from Habib Essid's government. In 2017, he called for legal amendments to the inheritance law to ensure equal rights for men and women, and he called for Tunisian women to be able to marry non-Muslims, which he believed to be not in direct conflict with

Sharia Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on Islamic holy books, scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran, Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' ...

nor with the Tunisian constitution. In 2018, he proposed a revision of Tunisian electoral law, which he felt contained many shortcomings going against the principles of the 2011 revolution. On 13 August 2018, he promised also to submit a bill to parliament soon which would aim to give women equal inheritance rights with men, as debate over the controversial topic of inheritance reverberated then throughout the Muslim world. Not long before his death, concerning the economic crisis of Tunisia (widely believed to be the foremost political problem in the country in the post-revolutionary era), he declared that the year 2018 would be difficult, but that the hope of economic revival was still possible. In April 2019, Essebsi announced he would not seek a second term in that year's presidential election, saying it was time to "open the door to the youth." Beji Caid Essebsi was recognized for his role in reinforcing democratic advances in the face of economic hardship and

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

. File:Secretary Kerry Meets With Tunisian President Essebsi (29756854516).jpg, Essebsi with U.S. Secretary of State

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...

(19 September 2016 in New York City) File:G7 Taormina Paolo Gentiloni Beji Caid Essebsi handshake 2017-05-27.jpg, Essebsi with

Prime Minister of Italy The prime minister of Italy, officially the president of the Council of Ministers (), is the head of government of the Italy, Italian Republic. The office of president of the Council of Ministers is established by articles 92–96 of the Co ...

Paolo Gentiloni Paolo Gentiloni Silveri (; born 22 November 1954) is an Italian politician who was European Commissioner for Economy in the von der Leyen Commission from 1 December 2019 to 30 November 2024. He had previously served as prime minister of Italy ...

in May 2017. File:Group photo G7 2017 Italy.jpg, Essebsi at the

43rd G7 summit The 43rd G7 summit was held on 26–27 May 2017 in Taormina ( ME), Sicily, Italy. In March 2014, the G7 declared that a meaningful discussion was currently not possible with Russia in the context of the G8. Since then, meetings have continued w ...

in 2017.

Illness and death

Funeral of Tunisia president Beji Caid Essebsi

On 27 June 2019, Essebsi was hospitalized at a military hospital in Tunis due to a serious illness. The following day his condition stabilized. Couv-Tunivisions Janvier 2012

He was re-admitted to hospital on 24 July 2019, and died the following day, 25 July 2019 (which coincided with the 62nd anniversary of the abolition of the Tunisian monarchy), five months before his term was due to end. In addition to Tunisia, which declared mourning for seven days, eight other countries announced official mourning periods of three days after the death of Essebsi, namely

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

and

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. Likewise, the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

stood for a minute of silence and flew flags for a day after Essebsi's death. The

electoral commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

subsequently announced that Essebsi's successor would be elected sooner than the original date of 17 November, due to the constitutional provision that in the event of the president's death, a permanent successor must be in office within 90 days. The president of the Assembly of Representatives of the People, Mohamed Ennaceur, served as acting president in the meantime. Ultimately, the election was pushed up to 15 September. His state funeral took place on 27 July in

Carthage Carthage was an ancient city in Northern Africa, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classic ...

in the presence of dignitaries such as: * Mohamed Ennaceur (acting

President of Tunisia The president of Tunisia, officially the president of the Republic of Tunisia (), is the executive head of state of Tunisia. The president exercises executive power with the assistance of a government headed by the Prime Minister of Tunisia, pr ...

) *

Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France and Co-Prince of Andorra since 2017. He was Ministry of Economy and Finance (France), Minister of Economics, Industr ...

(

President of France The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency is the supreme magistracy of the country, the po ...

) *

Felipe VI Felipe VI (; Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Grecia; born 30 January 1968) is King of Spain. In accordance with the Spanish Constitution, as monarch, he is head of state and commander-in-chief of the Spanish Armed For ...

(

King of Spain The monarchy of Spain or Spanish monarchy () is the constitutional form of government of Spain. It consists of a Hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarch who reigns as the head of state, being the highest office of the country. The Spanish ...

) *

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa Marcelo Nuno Duarte Rebelo de Sousa (; born 12 December 1948) is a Portuguese politician and academic who is the president of Portugal since 2016. He is a member of the Social Democratic Party, though he suspended his party membership for the ...

(

President of Portugal The president of Portugal, officially the president of the Portuguese Republic (, ), is the head of state and highest office of Portugal. The powers, functions and duties of prior presidential offices, and their relation with the prime minister ...

) *

George Vella George William Vella (born 24 April 1942) is a Maltese politician who served as the 10th president of Malta from 2019 to 2024. A member of the Labour Party (Malta), Labour Party, he previously served as Deputy Prime Minister of Malta, deputy p ...

(

President of Malta The president of Malta () is the constitutional head of state of Malta. The president is indirect election, indirectly elected by the House of Representatives of Malta, which appoints the president for a five-year term and requires them to sw ...

) * Albert II (

Prince of Monaco The sovereign prince () is the monarch and head of state of the Principality of Monaco. All reigning princes and princesses have taken the name of the House of Grimaldi. When Prince Rainier III died in 2005, he was Europe's longest reigning mo ...

) *

Joachim Gauck Joachim Wilhelm Gauck (; born 24 January 1940) is a German politician who served as President of Germany from 2012 to 2017. A former Lutheran pastor, he came to prominence as an anti-communist civil rights activist in East Germany. During the P ...

(former

President of Germany The president of Germany, officially titled the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany (),The official title within Germany is ', with ' being added in international correspondence; the official English title is President of the F ...

) *

Simonetta Sommaruga Simonetta Myriam Sommaruga (born 14 May 1960) is a Swiss politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2010 to 2022. A member of the Social Democratic Party (SP/PS), she was President of the Swiss Confederation in 2015 and ...

(former

President of Switzerland The president of the Swiss Confederation, also known as the president of the confederation, federal president or colloquially as the president of Switzerland, is as ''primus inter pares'' among the other members of the Federal Council formal ...

) *

Abdelkader Bensalah Abdelkader Bensalah (, 24 November 1941 – 22 September 2021) was an Algerian politician. He served as the President of the Council of the Nation, the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Algeria, between 2002 and 2019. After President ...

(

President of Algeria The president of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria (, ) is the head of state and chief executive of Algeria, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Algerian People's National Armed Forces. The current president is Abdelmadjid Tebbo ...

) *

Mahmoud Abbas Mahmoud Abbas (; born 15 November 1935), also known by the Kunya (Arabic), kunya Abu Mazen (, ), is a Palestinian politician who has been serving as the second president of Palestine and the President of the Palestinian National Authority, P ...

(

President of Palestine The president of the State of Palestine () is the head of state of Palestine. Yasser Arafat became the first titular president of the State of Palestine in 1989, one year after the Palestinian Declaration of Independence. The title was origina ...

) *

Fayez al-Sarraj Fayez Mustafa al-Sarraj ( or ; born 20 February 1960) is a Libyan politician who served as the chairman of the Presidential Council (Libya), Presidential Council of Libya and List of heads of government of Libya, head of government of the Govern ...

( Chairman of the Presidential Council of Libya) *

Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani (; born 3 June 1980) is Emir of Qatar, reigning since 2013. Tamim is the fourth son of former emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, born to his second spouse, Moza bint Nasser, Moza bint Nassir. He became heir ...

(

Emir of Qatar The Emir of the State of Qatar () is the monarch and head of state of the country. The emir is also the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces and guarantor of the Constitution. The emir holds the most powerful position in the country, and has a ...

) * Ghassan Salame ( Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations) * Ahmed Aboul Gheit (

Secretary General of the Arab League This is a list of the secretaries-general of the Arab League since its founding in 1945. List of secretaries-general

{{Secretaries-General of the Arab League Secretaries general of the Arab League, * Lists of office-holders, Arab League, Se ...

) * Taïeb Baccouche ( Secretary General of the Arab Maghreb Union) * Moulay Rachid ( Prince of Morocco) *

Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi (; born 22 February 1949) is an Emirati royal and politician who is the ruler of the Emirate of Fujairah, and was the first minister of agriculture and fisheries in the United Arab Emirates between 1971 an ...

( Emir of Fujairah) *

Fuat Oktay Fuat Oktay (born 21 January 1964) is a Turkish politician, civil servant and academic who served as the first vice president of Turkey from 2018 to 2023. He previously served as undersecretary to the prime minister of Turkey from 2016 until his ...

(

Vice President of Turkey The vice president of Turkey, officially the vice president of the Republic of Türkiye (), is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the government of Turkey, after the president. The vice president is also a statutory member o ...

) * Stephane Dion ( Special Envoy of the Prime Minister of Canada) * Ulrich Brechbuhl (

Counselor of the United States Department of State The counselor of the United States Department of State is a position within the United States Department of State that serves the secretary of state as a special advisor and consultant on major problems of foreign policy and who provides guidanc ...

). A procession took place from the

Carthage Palace Carthage Palace () is the presidential palace of Tunisia, and the official residence and seat of the President of Tunisia. It is located along the Mediterranean Sea at the current city of Carthage, near the archaeological site of the ancient c ...

to Jellaz Cemetery, where he was buried.

Abdullah II Abdullah II (Abdullah bin Hussein; born 30 January 1962) is King of Jordan, having ascended the throne on 7 February 1999. He is a member of the Hashemites, who have been the reigning royal family of Jordan since 1921, and is traditionally reg ...

(

King of Jordan The king of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan () is the monarchical head of state of Jordan. He serves as the head of the Jordanian monarchy—the Hashemites, Hashemite dynasty. The king is addressed as Majesty, His Majesty (). Jordan is a const ...

) also came to Tunisia on 29 July to offer condolences to the acting President of Tunisia Mohamed Ennaceur and to the family of President Beji Caid Essebsi.

Personal life

Essebsi married Chadlia Saïda Farhat on 8 February 1958. The couple had four children: two daughters, Amel and Salwa, and two sons, Mohamed Hafedh and Khélil. His wife died on 15 September 2019, aged 83, nearly two months after her husband.

Honours and awards

National honours

Foreign honours

* Medal of Honor of the Republic of Algeria (; 3 January 2013) * Collar of the Order of Sheikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa (; 27 January 2016) * National Order of Equatorial Guinea - ribbon bar

National Order of Equatorial Guinea - ribbon bar

Grand Cross of the

Order of Independence Order of Independence or Independence Order () is a Vietnamese decoration. Criteria The Vietnamese government states that the decoration "shall be conferred or posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award, an award, prize or med ...

(; 27 February 2018) * Legion Honneur GC ribbon

Grand Cross with Coller of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

(; 31 January 2018) * JOR Order of the Renaissance GC

Grand Cordon of the

Supreme Order of the Renaissance The Supreme Order of the Renaissance (,) is the second-most senior order of merit in the Kingdom of Jordan. History The order was instituted in 1917 by Emir Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca. According to correspondence between the British For ...

(; 20 October 2015) * Collar of the

Order of King Abdulaziz The Order of King Abdulaziz (Arabic: وسام الملك عبد العزيز Wisām al-malik ‘Abd al-‘Azīz) is a Saudi Arabian order of merit. The order was named after Abdulaziz Al Saud, founder of the modern Saudi state. History In 1971 ...

(; 29 March 2019) * ITA OMRI 2001 GC-GCord BAR

Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic () is the most senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of Italy, President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking honour of the Republi ...

(; 8 January 2017) * MLT National Order of Merit BAR

Honorary Companions of Honour with Collar of the National Order of Merit (; 5 February 2019) * MRT Grand Officer Order of National Merit

Grand Officer of the National Order of Merit of Mauritania (; 1991) * Grand Cordon of the

Order of Ouissam Alaouite The Order of Ouissam Alaouite () or the Sharifian Order of Al-Alaoui is a military decoration of Morocco which is bestowed by the King of Morocco upon those civilians and military officers who have displayed heroism in combat or have contribute ...

(; 1991) * Grand Collar of the State of Palestine (; 6 July 2017) * Orden Republike Srbije 2

Second Class of the Order of the Republic of Serbia (; 2016) * Grand Cross of the

Order of Civil Merit The Royal Order of Civil Merit (; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OMC) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bestowed by the Kingdom of Spain, alongside the Order of Charles III (established in 1771) and the Order ...

(; 28 October 1969) * Grand Cross of the

National Order of the Lion The National Order of the Lion () is the highest order of Senegal. The order was instituted by Law 60-36 of 22 October 1960 and was awarded to His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I The FIRST as The Grand Cross of The National Order of the Lion ...

(; 18 December 2018) * Order of the Seraphim - Ribbon bar

Knight of the

Order of the Seraphim The Royal Order of the Seraphim (; ''Seraphim'' being a category of angels) is the highest order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Sweden. It was created by Frederick I of Sweden, King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the ...

(; 4 November 2015) *

Collar of the Order of the State of Republic of Turkey (; 27 December 2017)

Awards

Honorary Degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

from

Paris-Sorbonne University Paris-Sorbonne University (also known as Paris IV; ) was a public university, public research university in Paris, France, active from 1971 to 2017. It was the main inheritor of the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Paris. In 2018, it m ...

(2015) * Founder's Award of

International Crisis Group The International Crisis Group (ICG; also known as the Crisis Group) is a global non-profit, non-governmental organisation founded in 1995. It is a think tank, used by policymakers and academics, conducting research and analysis on global crises. ...

(2015) * Freedom of the City of

Amman Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...

(2015) * Medal of Arab tourism (2017) * Tunisian Politician of the Year (2017) * Leadership Award of Global Hope Coalition (2018)

Publications

* ''Bourguiba : le bon grain et l'ivraie'', éd. Sud Éditions, Tunis, 2009, * ''La Tunisie : la démocratie en terre d'islam'' (with Arlette Chabot), éd. Plon, Paris, 2016

Gallery

File:Beji Caid el Sebsi 1.jpg, Essebsi giving a speech at the political office of the

Socialist Destourian Party The Socialist Destourian Party ( ' ; ; ) was the ruling political party of Tunisia from 1964 to 1988. Bahi Ladgham was the first Prime Minister from the party and Hédi Baccouche was the last. It was founded on 22 October 1964 and disbanded on ...

. File:Essebsi5.jpg, Essebsi in Stade Chedly Zouiten in 1960. File:Essebsi décoration.jpg, Essebsi decorated by

in 1966. File:Beji Caïd Essebsi minister of defense 2.jpg, Essebsi as Minister of Defense. File:BourguibaEtEssebsi.JPG, Essebsi with president Bourguiba File:Caïd Essebsi en juin 1981.jpg, Beji Caid Essebsi at the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

in 1981. File:Essebsi et Ahmed Taleb Ibahimi.jpg, Essebsi and

Ahmed Taleb Ibrahimi Ahmed Taleb Ibrahimi (; born 5 January 1932) is an Algerian politician and intellectual. He is the son of Islamic theologian and renowned scholar Bachir Ibrahimi, and served in multiple ministerial roles in Algeria from the 1960s until the late ...

signing a treaty between Tunisia and

in 1983. File:Hillary Clinton and Beji Caïd Essebsi.jpg, Beji Caid Essebsi and

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

in 2011. File:La Tunisie et lItalie signent un accord sur limmigration (5609752265).jpg, Essebsi at a press conference with Italian Prime Minister

Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; 29 September 193612 June 2023) was an Italian Media proprietor, media tycoon and politician who served as the prime minister of Italy in three governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a mem ...

in 2011. File:U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, right, meets with Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi, left, at the Pentagon, May 21, 2015 150521-D-DT527-275a.jpg, Essebsi and

US Secretary of Defense The United States secretary of defense (acronym: SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense (DoD), the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high-ranking member of the federal cabinet. DoDD 5100.1: Enclos ...

Ashton Carter Ashton Baldwin Carter (September 24, 1954 – October 24, 2022) was an American government official and academic who served as the 25th United States secretary of defense from February 2015 to January 2017. He later served as director of the Be ...

the Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As ...

in 2015. File:Secretary Kerry Meets With Tunisian President Essebsi (17717803659).jpg, Essebsi during meeting with

in May 2015. File:Ahmed + President.jpg, Essebsi receiving a delegation in the presidential palace. File:Secretary Kerry Signs MOU With Tunisian Minister for Political Affairs Marzouk (17283596203).jpg, Essebsi oversees a MOU between his adviser Mohsen Marzouk and

in 2015. File:The Vice President, Shri M. Hamid Ansari calling on the President of Tunisia, Mr. Beji Caid Essebsi, in Tunisia on June 03, 2016.jpg, President Essebsi with the

Vice President of India The vice president of India (ISO: ) is the deputy to the head of state of the Republic of India, i.e. the president of India. The office of vice president is the second-highest constitutional office after the president and ranks second in t ...

, Hamid Ansari, in June 2016. File:Houlin Zhao at the Tunisia Presidential Palace.jpg, Essebsi with Secretary-General of the

ITU The International Telecommunication Union (ITU)In the other common languages of the ITU: * * is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information and communication technologies. It was established ...

Houlin Zhao. File:Beji Caid el Sebsi at the Presidential Palace.jpg, Beji Caid Essebsi at the Carthage Presidential Palace. File:Secretary Kerry Shakes Hands With Tunisian President Essebsi (29756854886).jpg, Essebsi with

US Secretary of State The United States secretary of state (SecState) is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The secretary of state serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

in September 2016 in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. File:Funérailles de Beji Caid Essebsi by Karim2k Funérailles de Beji Caid Essebsi (02) by Karim2k.jpg, Funeral of Beji Caid Essebsi in 2019. File:Funérailles de Beji Caid Essebsi by Karim2k DSC2713 (48404366936).jpg, The funeral procession of President Beji Caid Essebsi. File:Funérailles de Beji Caid Essebsi by Karim2k DSC2723 (48404345296).jpg, The car transporting Essebsi during his funeral. File:Funérailles de Beji Caid Essebsi by Karim2k DSC2828 (48404768307).jpg, The body of the late Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi

References

External links

* , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Essebsi, Beji Caid 1926 births 2019 deaths 21st-century presidents of Tunisia Ambassadors of Tunisia to France Ambassadors of Tunisia to Germany Democratic Constitutional Rally politicians Foreign ministers of Tunisia Interior ministers of Tunisia Neo Destour politicians Nidaa Tounes politicians People from Tunis Governorate People of the Tunisian revolution Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies (Tunisia) Prime ministers of Tunisia Socialist Destourian Party politicians Tunisian Muslims Tunisian people of Italian descent Tunisian people of Sardinian descent Recipients of Supreme Order of the Renaissance (Jordan)