Tunisia’s first freely elected president, Beji Caid Essebsi died Thursday morning.
He was aged 92, and the world’s oldest sitting president.
BBC reports that Essebsi was admitted to hospital on Wednesday but officials did not say why he was receiving treatment.
Essebsi won Tunisia’s first free elections in 2014 following Arab uprisings across the region.
Earlier this year, he announced he would not stand in elections expected in November.