1956 –Tunisia achieves independence from France. Habib Bourguiba, architect of modern Tunisia, becomes prime minister. He becomes president a year later when the traditional ruler, Bey Lamine, is deposed and the monarchy abolished.
1975 –Bourguiba, the "Supreme Fighter", becomes president-for-life. November 1987. Prime Minister Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali declares himself president of Tunisia, stating Bourguiba's advancing age and state of health makes him incapable of governing.
February 1988 –Ben Ali, in a symbolic break with the 31-year rule of his predecessor, renames the political party which has governed Tunisia since independence. The Destourian Socialist Party, which holds all 125 seats in parliament, is to be called the Constitutional Democratic Assembly.
1989 –Ben Ali wins presidential elections, and is re-elected in 1994, making a clean sweep in presidential and parliamentary elections. The six opposition parties each win an average of 1 per cent of the vote and enter parliament for the first time since independence, after a change to the electoral code.
October 1999 –Ben Ali wins presidential election with more than 99 per cent of the vote. Two moderate opponents are allowed to stand against Ben Ali in a symbolic challenge.
April 2000 –Bourguiba, founding father of independent Tunisia, dies.
May 2002 –Results from a referendum show 99.52 per cent of voters approve amendments to the constitution that opponents say allows Ben Ali, in power for 15 years, to rule for life. Opposition leaders and human rights activists, who say the government tolerates no dissent, call the vote a sham.
2004 –Ben Ali is re-elected.
October 2009 –Ben Ali wins a fifth term with 89.62 per cent of the vote in a presidential election. Ali rejects allegations the vote is unfair and says anyone spreading lies to damage the country's image will be prosecuted.
December 2010 –Tunisian Mohamed Bouazizi sets fire to himself in the central town of Sidi Bouzid, protesting at the confiscation by police of his fruit and vegetable cart, sparking violent protests. He later died.
His cause is embraced by jobless graduates, trade unionists and human rights activists, as anti-government protests spread to other towns including the capital, Tunis.
January 2011 –Soldiers and tanks are stationed in Tunis to restore order after Ben Ali flees to Saudi Arabia following a month of violent protests that claimed dozens of lives. Politicians hold talks to try to form a unity government to help maintain a fragile calm two days after Ben Ali was ousted on January 14th. – (Reuters)