Beji Caid Essebsi

Born 29 November 1926, Beji Caid Essebsi moved through the machinery of Tunisia's old order for most of his life — foreign minister from 1981 to 1986, a fixture in rooms where power was never contested at the ballot box. When the 2011 revolution tore that system down, he returned as prime minister that February, steering the country through its first uncertain months. He founded Nidaa Tounes in the new multi-party landscape; the party won a plurality in 2014. That December he won the presidency in the first real election Tunisia had ever held, taking office on 31 December 2014. He died in offi…