The divisive leader was ousted from power in the Arab uprisings in 2011
Former Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali has died in Saudi Arabia aged 83, the country's foreign ministry confirmed on Thursday.
"We had confirmation of his death 30 minutes ago," the ministry said, without giving further details.
Tunisian Mosaique FM and Achourouk newspaper had reported his death earlier on Thursday, citing non-Tunisian sources. Mr Ben Ali's lawyer confirmed to the Associated Press that the ousted president had died.
Mounir Ben Salha said that Ben Ali died on Thursday in Jeddah and that his body is to be transferred to Mecca, awaiting the family's decision on his burial.
The divisive leader was ousted from power in the 2011 uprising in the North African country.
Before his political career, he took part in local resistance against French colonial forces. He rose through the Tunisian political elite to become president in a 1987 coup.
Tunisians, including Islamists, hailed his bloodless, non-violent takeover.
He went on to make Tunisia a moderate voice in the Arab world while Western governments viewed him as an effective bulwark against extremism despite criticism of his slow move toward democracy.
He served as the country's leader for 23 years until unrest broke out in late 2010. Growing frustration over unemployment and high prices snapped, sparked by the self-immolation of a market trader over his treatment by police.
A week ago, his laywer said the former president was in a "critical condition", before denying reports that he had died.
"He is not dead, but his state of health is bad. He has left hospital and is currently being cared for at his home - his condition is stabilising", the lawyer said at the time.
Prime Minister Youssef Chahed said last week that on humanitarian grounds Ben Ali could return to die in his own country - "like every Tunisian" - should he wish to do so.
Ben Ali is survived by six children; three daughters by a first marriage and two daughters and a son by Leila Trabelsi.
Tunisia on Sunday held a presidential election, in which two outsiders - law professor Kais Saied and detained media mogul Nabil Karoui - made it through to a second round run-off.
The country's first post Arab Spring democratically elected president, Beji Caid Essebsi, died in July aged 92, bringing the first round of the presidential polls forward by several months.
Under Ben Ali's watch, Tunisia was relatively untouched by the kind of extremist violence that wracked neighboring Algeria, except for a 2002 attack on a synagogue on the Tunisian resort island of Djerba that killed 21 people, mostly German tourists. Investigators linked the attack to Al Qaeda.
After the 2011 revolution, Islamic fundamentalism surged in some quarters and security services struggled against extremists linked to ISIS.
'''19 września zmarł Zajn al-Abidin ibn Ali, tunezyjski generał i polityk. Ibn Ali był premierem Tunezji w 1987 roku oraz prezydentem tego kraju w latach 1987–2011.'''

Zajn al-Abidin ibn Ali w 1977 roku został szefem służb bezpieczeństwa. W latach 1980–1984 sprawował funkcję ambasadora w Polsce. W 1986 roku został powołany na stanowisko ministra spraw wewnętrznych, a rok później został desygnowany na premiera Tunezji. Po miesiącu dokonał bezkrwawego przewrotu i objął obowiązki prezydenta. Wygrywał kolejne wybory w latach 1989–2009.

Rządy ibn Aliego krytykowane były jako łamiące prawa człowieka, zdelegalizował opozycyjną Partię Odrodzenia. W 2011 roku uciekł z kraju pod wpływem ''jaśminowej rewolucji'', znajdując schronienie w Arabii Saudyjskiej.