Republic of Tunisia

State · 1956–2026 CE · at its largest around 1958 CE

North African republic that gained independence from France in 1956 under Habib Bourguiba, who promoted secular modernisation. Protests there in 2010–11 sparked the Arab Spring.

On its lands while it lasted

• Habib Bourguiba (1903 CE – 2000 CE): Tunisian nationalist leader who led the country to independence from France in 1956 and was its first president until 1987.
• Arab Spring (2010–2012 CE): A wave of protests and uprisings that spread from Tunisia across the Arab world, toppling rulers in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen and leading to civil wars in Syria and Libya.
• Tunisian Revolution (2010–2011 CE): Protests sparked by the self-immolation of street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi in Sidi Bouzid forced President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to flee the country.

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