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On 17 December 2010, Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi doused himself with gasoline and set himself on fire.

Bouazizi had been supporting his family by selling fruit from a cart, but became enraged when local officials repeatedly demanded bribes and confiscated his merchandise. This is what led him to set himself on fire.

This act became a catalyst for the Tunisian Revolution and the wider Arab Spring against autocratic regimes.

Public outrage escalated following Bouazizi's death, prompting Tunisia's then-president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, to resign on January 14, 2011, after 23 years in power.

In 2011, Bouazizi was posthumously awarded the Sakharov Prize jointly along with four others for his contributions to "historic changes in the Arab world".

The Tunisian government honored him with a postage stamp.