President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali left Tunisia after four weeks of nationwide protests over unemployment, corruption and police violence, ending 23 years in power.
The unrest began in the interior town of Sidi Bouzid after Mohamed Bouazizi, a young street vendor, set himself alight in December following a confrontation with municipal officials. Demonstrations spread rapidly through provincial cities and then to the capital.
The Tunisian uprising was followed within weeks by mass protests in Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Bahrain and Syria, a regional wave that came to be known as the Arab Spring.
