Amin Bey, al-
AMIN BEY, AL-
Head of the Husaynid beylicate of Tunisia, 1943–1957.
Al-Amin assumed power following the ouster by the Free French of Tayyib Brahim Munsif Bey. In 1942, Munsif Bey had acceded to power but was removed because of his nationalist stance against French control of Tunisia. Al-Amin, in his early sixties at the time of his accession, proved unable to rally nationalist support for the beylicate and to resist French demands on his government. The Neo-Destour movement headed by Habib Bourguiba and Salah Ben Yousouf dominated the movement for nationalism from that point forward. Following Tunisia's independence in March 1956 and the election of a constituent assembly, the beylicate was abolished. Al-Amin was formally deposed in August 1957.
see also ben yousouf, salah; bourguiba, habib.
Bibliography
Abun-Nasr, Jamil. A History of the Maghrib, 2d edition. Cambridge, U.K., and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1975.
Perkins, Kenneth J. Tunisia: Crossroads of the Islamic and European Worlds. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1986.
Matthew S. Gordon