Rabat, June 27 -- Tunisia's President Beji Caid Essebsi was taken to a military hospital on Thursday, June 27, after suffering a "severe health crisis," according to the Tunisian presidency's Facebook page.

Essebsi remains in "very critical" condition but is still alive, an adviser told Reutors, countering previous rumors that he had died.

Essebsi, 92, was also hospitalized last week - though this was for non-serious treatment.

Essebsi is the country's first freely-elected president and has been involved in politics for most of his life, though he has become more well known for his political leadership since the Arab Spring.

Following the overthrow of Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali in 2011, Essebsi has been a prominent political figure in th...