Back قيس سعيد Arabic قيس سعيد ARY قيس سعيد ARZ قەیس سەعید CKB Kaís Saíd Czech Kais Saied Danish Kais Saied German Καΐς Σαγιέντ Greek Kais Saied Esperanto Kaïs Saied Spanish
Kais Saied | |
|---|---|
| قَيْس سْعَيِّد | |
 Saied in 2023 | |
| 5th President of Tunisia | |
| Assumed office 23 October 2019 | |
| Prime Minister | |
| Preceded by | Mohamed Ennaceur (acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 22 February 1958 Tunis, Tunisia[2] |
| Political party | Independent |
| Spouse | Ichraf Saied |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | University of Tunis International Institute of Humanitarian Law |
| Profession | Jurist, lecturer in law |
| Signature |  |
| ||
|---|---|---|
|
Offices
Elections
Presidency
Cabinets
Family
|
||
Kais Saied (Arabic: قَيْس سْعَيِّد ; born 22 February 1958) is a Tunisian politician, jurist and retired assistant professor of law currently serving as the seventh president of Tunisia since October 2019. He was president of the Tunisian Association of Constitutional Law from 1995 to 2019.
Having worked in various legal and academic roles since the 1980s, Saied joined the 2019 presidential election as an independent social conservative supported by Ennahda and others across the political spectrum. Running with little campaigning, Saied ran on a populist anti-corruption platform. He won the second round of the election with 72.71% of the vote, defeating Nabil Karoui, and was sworn in as president on 23 October 2019.
As president, Saied has overseen democratic backsliding, as he has repressed the political opposition and dissidents in Tunisia.[3][4][5] In January 2021, protests began in response to alleged police brutality, economic hardship and the COVID-19 pandemic. On 25 July 2021, Saied dismissed the parliament and Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi, executing a successful self-coup.[6] Since then, Saied oversaw the dismissal of the judiciary and arrest of his main political opposition figures[3]
He ruled by decree until he was successful in passing a new constitution which granted him more powers and called snap legislative elections. On 6 October 2024, in a sham election marked by extensive repression and manipulation, he was re-elected President for a second term in the first round amidst a record low turnout.[3][7][5]
- ^ "Tunisia's Saied tasks former finance minister to form new gov't". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
- ^ "قيس سعيد من هو.. ولماذا اختارته تونس؟". سكاي نيوز عربية (in Arabic). Retrieved 16 October 2019.
- ^ a b c "Tunisia: Arbitrary Detention Crushes Dissent | Human Rights Watch". 16 April 2025. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
- ^ "Tunisia sets elections for October. The increasingly authoritarian president hasn't said he'll run". AP News. 3 July 2024.
- ^ a b Yerkes, Sarah E.; Henneberg, Sabina (4 November 2024). "How Autocracy Prevailed in Tunisia: And Why Any Future Democratic Renewal Will Depend on an Entirely New Movement". Foreign Affairs.
- ^ Yerkes, Sarah E. (15 August 2022). "The End of the Tunisia Model | Foreign Affairs". Foreign Affairs.
- ^ "Kais Saied set to win Tunisia presidential election: Exit poll". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 6 October 2024.