page_title: Habib Bourguiba
section_title: 1987–2000: Later life
hierarchical_section_title: Habib Bourguiba / 1987–2000: Later life
caption_attribution_description: English: Bourguiba Mauseleum, Monastir, Tunisia Français&#160;: Mausolée de Bourguiba, Monastir, Tunisie
context_page_description: Habib Ben Ali Bourguiba was a Tunisian lawyer, nationalist leader and statesman who led the country from 1956 to 1987 as Prime minister of the Kingdom of Tunisia then as the first President of Tunisia. Prior to his presidency, he led the nation to independence from France, ending the 75 year-old protectorate and earning the title of "Supreme Combatant".
  Born in Monastir to a poor family, he attended Sadiki College then Lycée Carnot in Tunis, before obtaining his baccalaureate in 1924. He graduated from the University of Paris in 1927 and returned to Tunis to practice law. In the early 1930s, he became involved in anti-colonial and Tunisian national politics, joining the Destour party and co-founding the Neo Destour in 1934. He rose as a key figure of the independence movement and was repeatedly arrested by the colonial administration. His involvement in the riots of 9 April 1938, resulted in his exile to Marseille during World War II.
  In 1945, Bourguiba was released and moved to Cairo, Egypt to seek the support of the Arab League. He returned to the country in 1949 and rose to prominence as the leader of the national movement.
context_section_description: To avoid his reinstatement by opponents, Bourguiba was evacuated from Carthage Palace, a few days after 7 November 1987, to be transferred into a house in Mornag then, to Monastir, on 22 October 1988 where he enjoyed medical assistance. He stated being well treated by the new regime. Suffering from numerous health problems, including slurred speech and attention, Bourguiba went through serious diseases during the 1990s. He was, sometimes, visited by foreigners and President Ben Ali.
  On 5 March 2000, Bourguiba was rushed to the Tunis military hospital, following a pneumonitis. His condition deemed critical, he underwent thoracentesis ICU. His health improved, he left hospital on 13 March to get back to his house in Monastir. He died there at officially 96 years old, on 6 April 2000 at 9:50 pm . ·  ·  President Ben Ali, therefore, proclaimed seven days of national mourning while Algeria announced three days of national mourning. Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika stated that Bourguiba was "One of the Maghreb most influential personalities of the 20th century, which Africa and the entire world can boast". Meanwhile, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, paid a tribute to "the man of peace" and to "the architect of the Organization of African Unity".
  At the end of the afternoon, his body was wrapped in a white shroud, as the tradition wanted it, and carried by Chabiba members, the youth organization of the Democratic Constitutional Rally, wearing redcoats. It was deposited in the middle of the familial house, covered with the Tunisian national flag and surrounded by Chabiba members. His son, Habib Jr., his daughter-in-law and his adoptive daughter Hajer received condolences of Monastir City and Governorate's officials. Bourguiba was buried on 8 April, in the afternoon, in his mausoleum. After a short ceremony at the Hanafi Mosque of Bourguiba, his body was transported on a gun carriage, coated with the national flag and carried by a military vehicle framed by detachments of the Tunisian army. Among the foreign guests were French President Jacques Chirac, Algerian Bouteflika, Palestinian Yasser Arafat and Egyptian Hosni Mubarak. After the burial, President Ben Ali pronounced a eulogy in which he paid a tribute to the "Loyal and devoted fight" of Bourguiba for Tunisia.
  The funeral conditions were, however, submitted to the criticism of international media that insisted on the brevity of the ceremony, the few foreign guests and the absence of TV broadcast which transmitted animal ceremonies during the funeral procession.
caption: Tomb of Bourguiba in Monastir
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "", "Image Make": "NIKON", "Image Model": "E4100", "Image Orientation": "0", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Picasa 3.0", "Image DateTime": "2005:01:31 08:35:31", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "218", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "2216", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "6827", "EXIF ExposureTime": "5/29", "EXIF FNumber": "14/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "184", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2005:01:31 08:35:31", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2005:01:31 08:35:31", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "2", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "3", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "29/5", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2288", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1675", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "2092", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "0", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "35", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "Low gain up", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0", "EXIF ImageUniqueID": "045ee70af988e5f2586e930aa02fa834"}