Tunisia: Parliament speaker appointed interim president

By Yamena Salemi

TUNIS (AA) - Mohamed Ennaceur, speaker of the Tunisian Parliament, on Thursday announced himself new president succeeding Beji Caid Essebsi who died earlier at age 92.

"I would like to pay tribute to the late President Beji Caid Essebsi for [efforts in] the establishment of the independent state and then the presidency in the past five years," Ennaceur said in a televised statement.

He went on to call for unification to achieve aspirations of the Tunisian people.

The Tunisian parliament is slated later on Thursday to hold an urgent session regarding filling the vacant president post.

Born in 1934, Ennaceur holds a PhD in law from Sorbonne University in Paris.

He has served as Speaker of Parliament since December 2014 from Nidaa Tounes party that had secured majority of the country's legislative election.