Tunisian Leader Essebsi, 1st Democratic Leader, Dies at 92

TUNIS, Tunisia—Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi, the North African country’s first democratically elected leader and a symbol of the generation of Tunisians who shook off French rule in the 1950s, has died. He was 92.

President of Tunisia Beji Caid Essebsi waves as he arrives at the Chancellery during the "Compact with Africa" conference in Berlin, Germany on Oct. 30, 2018. Sean Gallup/Getty Images

TUNIS, Tunisia—Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi, the North African country’s first democratically elected leader, has died. He was 92.

The succession plan is uncertain, and his death could lead to new power struggles in the only country to emerge from the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings with a functioning democracy and relative stability.