King Felipe VI of Spain has attended the funeral of Tunisia`s president, Béji Caïd Essebsi. The funeral took place on Saturday July 27th 2019 at the Presidential Palace of Carthage in Tunisia.
King Felipe was accompanied by Spain`s Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Borrell. Upon arrival at the Tunis-Carthage International Airport, the Spanish monarch was received by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Tunis, Youssef Chahed, the ambassador of Spain in the Republic of Tunisia, Guillermo Ardizone and the ambassador of Spain in Libya, Francisco de Miguel.
King Felipe held a meeting in the Presidential Pavilion of the International Airport with Tunisian Prime Minister, Youssef Chahed. Following the meeting Spain’s king travelled to the Presidential Palace of Carthage and almost immediately went to the Independence Hall to take his place in the row of Heads of State.
Then the funeral ceremony began. At the service for His Excellency Mohamed Béji Caïd Essebsi, who received military honours, verses of the Qur’an were read, following the speech of His Excellency Mohamed Ennaceur, President of the Republic of Tunisia There was a musical performance and then condolences were presented.
At the end of the funeral, King Felipe, along with the rest of the heads of delegation attending, left the Independence Hall in a procession that passed through the courtyards of the presidential complex. After the ceremony, King Felipe moved to the Presidential Pavilion of the Tunis-Carthage International Airport, to begin his return trip.
It was on Thursday last week that the Presidential Palace in Tunisia announced that the country’s 92-year-old President Beji Caid Essebsi had died. Essebsi had the honour of being the first elected president in free elections in the history of Tunisia, the second since the Revolution that overthrew Ben Ali in 2011. On his death, Mohamed Ennaceur, became the new president. The 85-year-old has been married to the Norwegian woman Siren Ennaceur.
