# Ghannouchi returns to Tunisia from exile

Date: 2011

On 30 January 2011 Ennahda leader [Rached Ghannouchi](/people/rached-ghannouchi), then 69, flew home to Tunis from London after about 22 years in exile, following the fall of [Zine El Abidine Ben Ali](/people/zine-el-abidine-ben-ali). Thousands met him at the airport; he rejected comparisons with Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini and likened his movement to Turkey's ruling party.

## People

- Rached Ghannouchi: https://factrail.ai/people/rached-ghannouchi

## Sources

- https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-12318824
- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-01-31/thousands-greet-tunisian-islamist-leaders-return/1923298
- https://foreignpolicy.com/2011/11/28/the-fp-top-100-global-thinkers-4/
- https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/tunisia-rached-ghannouchi-wins-libel-suit-uk-high-court

## Methodology

https://factrail.ai/methodology

Canonical: https://factrail.ai/facts/ghannouchi-returns-tunisia-2011-01-30