Bourguiba, Habib Ben Ali

▪ 2001

      Tunisian politician (b. Aug. 3, 1903?, al-Munastir, Tun.—d. April 6, 2000, al-Munastir), led Tunisia in its effort to win independence from France and afterward served as his country's first president. Trained as a lawyer, Bourguiba helped found a nationalist political party, the Neo-Destour, in the 1930s that was dedicated to ending French colonial rule and securing Tunisian independence. Although Bourguiba was imprisoned by French authorities in 1934–36, 1938–42, and 1952–55, attempts by the French to suppress the Neo-Destour were unsuccessful. After France granted full independence to Tunisia on March 20, 1956, Bourguiba was hailed as a national hero and soon ascended to power. He was elected president on July 25, 1957. During his 30 years in office, he modernized Tunisia and introduced numerous secular reforms, including granting women the right to vote and abolishing the practice of polygamy. His reforms and largely pro-Western views angered other Arab and Muslim countries. In the early 1970s, Bourguiba's call for a “just and lasting peace” with Israel further increased his regional unpopularity, but he eventually countered his critics by giving refuge to the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1982. Although he had been declared president for life in 1975, he was ousted in a bloodless coup in November 1987 after he allegedly showed signs of senility. He spent his remaining years confined to his palace in al-Munastir.

* * *