page_title: Muhammad VIII al-Amin
section_title: Replacement of Moncef Bey
hierarchical_section_title: Muhammad VIII al-Amin / Replacement of Moncef Bey
caption_attribution_description: English: Mohamed Lamine Bey (1881-1962) when he was young, Bey of Tunis (1943-1957).
context_page_description: Muhammad VIII al-Amin known as Lamine Bey, was the last Bey of Tunis, and also the only King of Tunisia.
  He was enthroned in unusual circumstances following the removal of his predecessor Muhammad VII al Munsif by the French Resident General Henri Giraud in 1943. It was not until the latter's death in 1948 that his legitimacy was recognised by the people of Tunisia. He took steps to align himself with the Tunisian national movement against the French protectorate but was sidelined by the Neo Destour after he accepted French-initiated reforms in 1954. Shortly after independence Lamine Bey was turned out of his palace along with his family. Their property was seized and several family members were imprisoned. He ended his days living in a small apartment in Tunis.
context_section_description: Towards the end of the Tunisian Campaign in May 1943 General Alphonse Juin, Commander in Chief of French forces in North Africa, arrived in Tunis with orders to depose Muhammad VII for alleged attempts to collaborate with Axis forces during the occupation and for an indulgent attitude to the actions of the militant nationalist Destour party. After investigating the Bey's conduct, Juin could find no grounds for condemning him, but his orders were explicit. He tried to persuade Moncef to abdicate, but he refused. Juin therefore visited Lamine in his villa in La Marsa to make sure that he would not refuse the throne if it was offered, but Lamine at first refused to give this undertaking. Eventually Juin prevailed on him to agree, largely because of the benefits to his family. As Moncef Bey refused to abdicate, General Giraud removed him on 14 May 1943.
  Muhammad VIII was installed on 15 May 1943 at the Bardo palace by General Juin, who invested him at the same time with the Légion d’honneur. He then received the homage of other princes of the royal family, ministers, court officials and members of the consular corps.  For this occasion he reinstated the kissing of the hand, which his predecessor had abolished. That same day, Mohamed Chenik presented the resignation of his government and was replaced by Slaheddine Baccouche. As was the norm under the French protectorate, the Bey was not consulted on the choice of ministers (the Chenik government appointed by Moncef Bey had been an exception to this rule). It was only on 6 July that Moncef Bey eventually abdicated, thereby rendering Lamine Bey's accession legitimate. For most Tunisians however, Lamine Bey was still considered to be a usurper.
caption: Mohamed Lamine Bey as a young man
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