AFP/Tunis

Ben Ali waves upon his arrival at Congress Palace in Tunis in this October 10, 2004 file photo
Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, who quit yesterday and fled the country after deadly protests, survived in power for 23 years by mixing authoritarian rule with a degree of prosperity and stability for his people.
When on November 7, 1987, he toppled Habib Bourguiba, the ailing father of Tunisian independence who was by then reported to be senile, all Tunisians, including Islamists, hailed his “bloodless, non-violent takeover.”
His supporters hailed him as the “saviour” of a rudderless country and credited him with laying the foundation for a liberal economy and with nipping in the bud the Islamist Ennahdha party.
He went on to make Tunisia a moderate voice in the Arab world and Western governments view him as an effective bulwark against Islamist extremism despite criticism of his slow moves toward democracy.
Upon taking office, he scrapped the title of “president for life” created by Bourguiba and limited the number of presidential terms to three.
On the social front, he launched a “solidarity” policy, creating a special fund for the underprivileged and a social security system, while pursuing the promotion of education and women’s rights initiated by his predecessor.
Such measures earned him the support of a growing middle class.
But he consolidated his rule by muzzling the opposition, keeping strong control of the media and armed forces and gradually extending the number of terms he is allowed to serve under the constitution.
Ben Ali, who is 74, was born into a modest family in the east-central town of Hammam-Sousse, at a time when Tunisia was still a French protectorate. He was 19 years old when it achieved full independence, in 1956.
A career soldier, he studied at military academies in both France and the US.
After his military training he went into army intelligence, and was appointed minister for national security in 1985, moving up to the interior ministry the following year and the post of prime minister early in 1987.
On becoming president he promised a gradual move towards democracy, organising the country’s first multi-candidate presidential election in 1999 - and winning it with an official majority of 99.44% of the vote.
In May 2002 he held a referendum to change the constitution so he could serve a fourth term; a second such change allowed for an unlimited number of mandates.
He was overwhelmingly re-elected to a fifth five-year term in October 2009, albeit with a score which dipped for the first time just below 90%.
Ben Ali, whose country is a major mass-market tourist destination for visitors from Europe, is fond of telling foreign leaders that Tunisia “does not have any lessons to receive” about human rights.
Rights groups have regularly condemned his government, which they say holds hundreds of political prisoners, although he denies this.
Ben Ali has faced an unprecedented mass revolt initially sparked by discontent over joblessness, and rights groups say at least 66 people have died in a brutal crackdown.
On Thursday, less than 24 hours before his departure from the country, he admitted that he had been “wrong” in his analysis of the country’s social ills and ordered his forces not to use lethal force against demonstrators.