See Also: Ben Ali, Zine el-Abidine(encyclopedia)
zine(dictionary)
e-zine(dictionary)
zine(dictionary)

Aleut (sh) and Ben Ali, Zine el-Abidine (sh)


Aleut (sh)




Any native of the Aleutian Islands and western portion of the Alaska Peninsula.

The name Aleut, used in 1745 by Russian fur traders from the Kamchatka Peninsula, refers primarily to the people of the Aleutian Islands, who call themselves Unangan or Unangas, but also by extension to the Pacific Yupik, who call themselves Alutiit (plural of Alutiiq), an adaptation of the Russian name. Aleuts speak two main dialects and are physically and culturally closely related to the Eskimo. Traditional Aleut villages were located on the seashore near fresh water, where the people hunted marine mammals, fish, birds, caribou, and bear. Aleut women wove fine grass basketry; stone, bone, and ivory were also worked. After the arrival of the Russians in the 18th century, their population declined drastically. Some 6,600 people claimed sole Aleut ancestry in the 2000 U.S. census.


Ben Ali, Zine el-Abidine (sh)




born Sept. 3, 1938, near Sousse, Tun.

President of Tunisia (from 1987).

Trained as a soldier, he headed the defense ministry's military intelligence section for 10 years (1964-74) before entering the foreign service. He served as ambassador to Poland before returning Home to hold several domestic government posts, which culminated in a dual appointment as prime minister and interior minister. In 1987 he replaced President Habib Bourguiba, who had been declared medically unfit. He was returned to office in elections in 1989, 1994, and 1999.