Habib Bourguiba

Habib Bourguiba , 1903-2000, Tunisian statesman, president of Tunisia (1957-87), b. Monastir. Early active in the Destour party, he was at first an advocate of close cooperation with France. Later, however, he became a staunch nationalist and in 1934 formed the Neo-Destour party. Because of its anti-French agitation, the party was outlawed several times and Bourguiba was often imprisoned. In 1946 he escaped to Cairo and later went to the United States to promote Tunisian nationalism. He was imprisoned again in 1949. In 1954 he was released to negotiate the agreement that led to Tunisian autonomy that year and to independence in 1956, when he was elected prime minister. In 1957 he deposed the bey and was chosen president of the republic by the constituent assembly. A passionate orator, shrewd tactician, and moderate modernizer, Bourguiba built a relatively secular and Westernized Tunisia and maintained close ties with the United States and favored negotiation with Israel. His government met with opposition from Islamic fundamentalists in the mid-1980s. Although named (1975) president for life, he was deposed by Prime Minister Ben Ali in 1987.

Bourguiba, Habib (1903–2000),Tunisian politician, leader of his country's nationalist party, the Neo-Destour, which fought for independence from France. Arrested by the French in 1938 he was later imprisoned in Marseilles. He apparently remained pro-Allied, but the Germans insisted on his release in April 1943, and the following month he returned to Tunisia via Rome just before the North African campaign culminated in the Axis surrender there. His negotiations with the Free French over independence failed and in March 1945 he went to Cairo from where he carried on his struggle for independence which was finally achieved in 1956.