Bourguiba, Hubib ibn Ali

Bourguiba, Hubib ibn Ali (b. 3 Aug. 1903, d. 6 Apr 2000). President of Tunisia 1957–87 Born in Tunis, he studied jurisprudence in Paris and on his return in 1921 joined the moderate nationalist party, the Tunisian Constitutional Party (Destour). In 1934 he formed a more extreme group, the Neo-Destour Party, which he had just enough time to organize effectively before his imprisonment by the French in 1934. Released by the Popular Front government in 1936, he was again arrested in 1938. Despite his release by the Vichy government, he rejected collaboration with Fascism and returned to work for greater autonomy after the return of the Free French to Tunisia in 1943. In 1945, he left the country for four years to rally international support for independence. Negotiations in 1950–1 failed, but after violent protests in Tunisia the French government returned to the conference table. In 1956, he became Tunisia's first Prime Minister, and in 1957 he became President. He embarked upon a programme of secularization to carry out what he considered the modernization of the society. At the same time, he increased his hold on the party, making himself president for life in 1975. Despite his authoritarianism, as the liberator of Tunisia the charismatic leader retained strong levels of popular support. After failing a series of medical tests, he was declared unfit for office and replaced by Ben Ali.