Ben Ali's repressive regime was known for its harsh oppression of all forms of Islamists.
Mr Ben Ali faced reproach at home and abroad for his party's three "99.9%" election wins.
Three days later, longtime Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was forced to flee the country.
His act triggered the Tunisian Revolution, ousted then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, and inspired the Arab Spring.
Tension has been growing between hardline Islamists and secularists since the overthrow of President Ben Ali's autocratic rule.
He had fled Tunisia for Qatar after the uprising that ousted President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in January 2011.
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Even though Ben Ali eventually visited Bouazizi in the hospital and said he'd create more jobs, the damage was done.
The country's president, Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, was forced from power on Friday and fled the country for Saudi Arabia.
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Some Tunisians give the impression that the removal of Mr Ben Ali and his grasping family has solved the problem.
The money had reportedly been held in a Lebanese bank account belonging to Laila Trabelsi, the wife of Mr Ben Ali.
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The fall of Ben Ali during the Tunisian revolution in 2011 emboldened citizens in neighboring Libya to rise against Moammar Gadhafi.
It is uncertain whether Mr Ben Ali, 73 and not in the pink of health, will run yet again in 2014.
"Every step of the way he had to catch up, but he was always five steps behind, " Goldstein said of Ben Ali.
Although Tunisia under Mr Ben Ali introduced some press freedoms and freed a number of political prisoners, the authorities tolerated no dissent.
Still, the very fact that Mr Ben Ali is going through the charade suggests that he is responding to pressure for change.
In Tunisia, President Ben Ali has been forced to flee into exile.
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In June 2012, Ben Ali was sentenced in absentia to life in jail for the killing of protesters in last year's revolution.
Reports are spreading that Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali has left the country, after increasing unrest came to a head today.
Tunisia's revolution ousted President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali and brought about a new government and political system, including a new draft constitution.
This prompted the army chief, General Rachid Ammar, who is credited with persuading Mr Ben Ali to flee, to parley with the protesters.
Mr Ben Ali himself feigned ignorance of such things despite the rising smell, and the rising cost to the country of such shenanigans.
Ironically, in Tunisia, it is the youth who have perhaps been most disappointed following the ousting of long-time President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.
Ennahda was elected following the overthrow of President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali in January 2011, but Salafists want stricter Islamic laws imposed in Tunisia.
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And, if Ben Ali-era functionaries are removed from their positions during this process, they should be replaced via merit-based recruitment to the civil service.
Thousands have been rallying in Tunis to call for the resignation of the interim prime minister, Mohamed Ghannouchi, a veteran of many Ben Ali governments.
It was two days after the departure from office of Tunisia's president, Zine el Abedine Ben Ali, signaled the full explosion of the Arab Spring.
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Mr Ben Ali, nearly 74, often boasts of running a stable, modestly prosperous, well-educated country, with the Arab world's most liberal legislation for women's rights.
Leading figures from Mr Ben Ali's regime are still in contention.
It has been a year since Tunisians overthrew Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in a revolution that was as much about economics as it was about politics.
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