--- description: The birthplace of the "Arab Spring" lifted a state of emergency three years after its popular uprising. title: Tunisia Lifts State of Emergency Three Years After Arab Spring image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tunisia](/tag/tunisia/) ## Tunisia Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Tunisia Ends State of Emergency 3 Years After Uprising  by [Noah Rayman](/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 6, 2014 12:48 PM CUT  by [Noah Rayman](/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 6, 2014 12:48 PM CUT The Tunisian government this week lifted the [state of emergency](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/tunisia-ends-state-emergency-after-3-years "undefined") that has been in place since a popular uprising three years ago overthrew the government and marked the beginning of the Arab Spring. The office of [President Moncef Marzouki](http://time100.time.com/2013/04/18/time-100/slide/moncef-marzouki/ "undefined") [announced](https://www.facebook.com/Presidence.tn "undefined") on its Facebook page Thursday that the president lifted the state of emergency as of Wednesday. The repeal of the state of emergency—which had given the government [greater control](http://www.tunisia-live.net/2014/03/06/tunisia-lifts-state-of-emergency-three-years-after-revolution/ "undefined") over protests and the press, among other powers—is the latest sign of stability in Tunisia after three years of political tumult since the ouster of President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali in January 2011. Earlier this year, Tunisia’s ruling Islamist party [handed over power](http://time.com/345/tunisias-islamist-prime-minister-steps-down-and-keeps-the-arab-spring-alive/ "undefined") to a technocratic government ahead of a new round of elections, in a feat of compromise that has been mostly absent elsewhere in the region. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/13896/tunisia-state-of-emergency-arab-spring/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/13896/tunisia-state-of-emergency-arab-spring/"},"headline":"Tunisia Ends State of Emergency 3 Years After Uprising","datePublished":"2014-03-06T12:48:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T06:37:00.415Z","description":"The birthplace of the \"Arab Spring\" lifted the state of emergency three years after the ouster of President Zine el-Abdine Ben Ali.","url":"https://time.com/13896/tunisia-state-of-emergency-arab-spring/","keywords":["Tunisia"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Noah Rayman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/noah-rayman/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/tunisia/","name":"Tunisia"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/13896/tunisia-state-of-emergency-arab-spring/","name":"Tunisia Ends State of Emergency 3 Years After Uprising"}}]}] ```