Habib Bourguiba, Independence Champion and President of Tunisia, Dies at 96 - The New York Times The New York Times World |Habib Bourguiba, Independence Champion and President of Tunisia, Dies at 96 Search Continue reading the main story Habib Bourguiba, who was president of Tunisia from 1957 to 1987 after leading the country to independence from France, died yesterday. He was 96 years old and lived in Monastir in eastern Tunisia. Mr. Bourguiba was a spectacularly durable Arab leader. He was also relatively moderate and pro-Western and did much to enhance women's rights in Tunisia. Often called the Supreme Combatant, he long dominated his North African nation as wholly as Nehru did India or Nasser did Egypt. In the early 1960's, after he consolidated power, he was asked about Tunisia's political system. ''The system? What system?'' he exclaimed cheerfully. ''I am the system.'' Mr. Bourguiba, who had been the only president of independent Tunisia, acquired the title president for life in 1975.

But in November 1987, at age 84, he was deposed in a bloodless coup. He was ousted by his new prime minister, Zine el-Abidine ben Ali, who declared that the president was too senile and ill to govern Tunisia's seven million people. Mr. ben Ali put Mr. Bourguiba under guard for a time in a villa outside Tunis and assumed the presidency himself. Advertisement Continue reading the main story In the early years under Mr. Bourguiba, Tunisia evolved into one of the most politically tolerant Arab countries and was a showcase for development. Per-capita income and literacy soared. But in later years, appreciation of past accomplishments dimmed with disillusionment over high prices, low wages and high unemployment. At the same time, demands from opposing ends of the political spectrum shook confidence in his stewardship, which had often been marred by rigged elections. In his final years in power, Mr. Bourguiba took sweeping measures against Islamic militants, and he was deposed after he ordered retrials and death sentences for several of them. Mr. ben Ali and others feared that if the order were carried out it would bring on civil war. That crisis period was a far cry from Mr.

Bourguiba's long heyday. For decade after decade, he was the fountainhead of Tunisian political life, first as the leader of the movement for independence and then, after independence came in 1956, as chief of state, modernizer, pioneer for women's rights and advocate of Arab moderation toward Israel. He was a flamboyant leader and a gifted orator, with his eyes flashing under his red fez, his jaw jutting, his arms flailing, his voice rising and falling, his passionate oratory building to make his points. But he was also a shrewd politician who often preferred to outmaneuver adversaries like French officials and Islamic conservatives rather than confront them. His tactics became known in the Paris press as Bourguibism, and they helped him retain his position as Tunisia's leader after the rulers of other Islamic nations -- the shah of Iran, the king of Libya, strongmen in Syria and Iraq -- were overthrown. Mr. Bourguiba's relatively restrained attitude did not come naturally in Tunisia, a nation the size of Louisiana on the Mediterranean coast between Algeria and Libya.

Years of study in Paris had imbued him with a pattern of logical thinking, and as president he found it only logical to advocate restraint toward Israel, even after the Israeli victory in the 1967 war, when other Arab leaders were demanding revenge. In 1968, taking an approach somewhat resembling the one later adopted by Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger, Mr. Bourguiba advocated a phased solution to the Middle East conflict. But his proposals were ignored in Arab capitals. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Some months before the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, he called for a ''just and lasting peace,'' citing Israel's right ''not to be exterminated and thrown into the sea.'' But in 1973 as in 1967, he sent a token military force to show his support for the Arab side. And when the guerrillas of the Palestine Liberation Organization left West Beirut in 1982 after an Israeli invasion, Tunisia -- despite misgivings -- was among the Arab countries that took them in. About 1,100 guerrillas arrived by sea at Bizerte to a tumultuous welcome. The chief greeter was Mr.

Bourguiba, waving from the dock. The Bourguiba government also let the P.L.O. set up its headquarters in Tunis, which was already the headquarters of the Arab League. Soon after Tunisia became independent, Mr. Bourguiba used his power to achieve a major gain for women. He pushed through a ''code of personal status'' that ran counter to traditional Muslim jurisprudence and custom in enhancing women's rights. Polygamy was outlawed. Marriage was redefined as a voluntary contract that conferred rights upon the wife as well as the husband. A minimum age for marriage was established, and the consent of the bride was made mandatory. These stipulations in effect outlawed the traditional practice of selling young girls. They also underscored the modern concept of marriage as a bond between individuals rather than an alliance between families. Mr. Bourguiba also sought improvement in the lot of his country's seminomadic tribesmen.

In a speech to a tribal audience in 1960, he evoked a theme beloved of the Arab historians, the contrast between desert and city life, in urging the audience to ''follow the directions of your government so that your children and grandchildren may accede to city life -- or else you can remain attached to a primitive type of life, which condemns you to vegetate on the margins of society.'' Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up Privacy Policy Habib ben Ali Bourguiba was a product of urban society. He was born on Aug. 3, 1903, in Monastir, the ancient port in the east, the youngest of eight children in a family of low-ranking civil servants. He went to school in Tunis, and an older brother provided the money for him to go to Paris in 1924 to study law, political science and French literature. During three years in France he also became a theater buff and married a Frenchwoman, Mathilde Lorrain, who was 13 years his senior. He divorced her in 1961. Returning to Tunis, Mr.

Bourguiba practiced law, wrote for Tunisian newspapers and plunged into politics. He was a founder of the nationalist Neo-Destour Party in 1934 and was repeatedly imprisoned for his political activities. He spent half the years from 1934 to 1954 in jail. Advertisement Continue reading the main story He was elected prime minister in 1956, the year Tunisia became independent, and was chosen president by a constituent assembly in 1957. He was confirmed in the presidency in general elections two years later. The country had a relatively tranquil foreign policy during much of Mr. Bourguiba's era, but he supported the Algerian rebels in their revolt against France and plunged Tunisia into conflict with France in 1961 over the French base at Bizerte. After an outbreak of fighting between French and Tunisian forces, the French abandoned the base. Tunisia's relations with Libya were often strained. A merger with Libya was projected in 1974 but was never carried out. And in January 1980, a guerrilla attack in Gafsa, a Tunisian mining city, that was apparently instigated in Libya left 41 people dead. Mr.

Bourguiba grew less vigorous and assertive with age, but he was elected president for life in 1975. Antigovernment rioting shook Tunis and other cities in January 1978, after inflation heated up the smoldering animosity between Mr. Bourguiba's party and Tunisia's labor unions. He remained secluded in his palace at Carthage, in the suburbs of Tunis, and calm was restored after more than 40 people were killed. The disorders heightened the speculation and uncertainty in Tunisia, even then, as to who would be his eventual successor. Faced with a growing challenge from fundamentalists, the government cracked down in September 1981 after militants made anti-Bourguiba speeches in mosques. Sixty-eight fundamentalist leaders were tried, convicted of defaming the president and sentenced to up to 12 years in prison. Later that year, Mr. Bourguiba's party allowed opposition groups to participate for the first time in elections to the National Assembly, but they won no seats. The opposition charged election fraud, but the government denied it.

The decision to allow multiparty elections reportedly grew out of a concern over the apparent gains in popularity made by the fundamentalist critics of the government. One diplomat said Mr. Bourguiba was ''especially disturbed at what the fundamentalists are saying against him'' because he wanted to leave ''a legacy of stability and secularization.'' Advertisement Continue reading the main story Yet in the last years of the Bourguiba era, Tunisia was racked by economic problems and discontent, underscored by bread riots in 1984. Unemployment was painfully high, particularly among the young, and the government ran so short of foreign exchange that the International Monetary Fund had to come to its rescue in 1986. When he seized power, Mr. ben Ali said Mr. Bourguiba had ''become totally incapable of undertaking the duties of the presidency.'' Soon afterward, Kamil Cherif, a senior official of the Information Ministry, cited examples of how Mr. Bourguiba's performance had deteriorated with age. He said that in October 1987 Mr. Bourguiba had appointed a new chief delegate to the United Nations, but had soon forgotten that appointment and named another man to the post. In the same month, Mr.

Cherif said, Mr. Bourguiba appointed several cabinet ministers, only to contend the following day that he had not done so. The first free elections in independent Tunisia's history were held after Mr. Bourguiba's downfall, on April 10, 1989. He looked fragile, but his manner was jaunty when he cast his ballot in Monastir. ''It is a holiday for me,'' he told the journalists on hand for the occasion. ''I am voting for Mr. ben Ali and for the list of my party.'' Mr. Bourguiba married in 1961 for a second time, to Wassila ben Ammar, a Tunisian from a prominent family. She came to be seen as a power within the presidency, and she sought a more open and democratic society and an orderly aftermath to Mr. Bourguiba's presidency. But he divorced her in 1986 after first banishing her. She died in 1999. Mr. Bourguiba is survived by a son, Habib Bourguiba Jr.

Habib Bourguiba - LookLex Encyclopaedia Habib Bourguiba Habib Bourguiba in New York, 1961. Photo courtesy of the United States Federal Government. (1903-2000) Leader of the independence struggle of Tunisia , and the country's first president 1957-1987. As president of Tunisia, Bourguiba was a type of North African Atatürk ; he reduced the influence of religion on society and he guaranteed the rights of women, economically, in marriage and in social life. The politics of Tunisia became one of moderate, European-like solutions. The country had in the 1960s good economic growth, but clientilism (the system where the knowledge and allegiance to people in important positions is more important than juridical rights), at the core of Tunisian society, became increasingly destructive to the social and economic development of the country. People with the right friends or relatives came to receive concessions, without having the necessary competence. Monopolies were built around such systems, and in the 1980s it became evident that this choked the Tunisian society.

With a Bourguiba weakened by age, the 1980s saw a leader incompetent to rule, and when he was deposed in 1987, Tunisia was on the verge of civil war, since the Islamists were treated in a random and cruel fashion. Ordinary Tunisians were also becoming increasingly dissatisfied. History 1903 August 3: Born in Monastir . Is educated at Sadiki College in Tunis , and the University of Paris, France, where he studies law. He marries a French woman. 1927: Bourguiba returns to Tunisia. 1932: Bourguiba starts the newspaper L'Action Tunisienne. 1934: The Neo Destour Party is formed, with Bourguiba as its leader. Bourguiba demands independence from France, and his party is outlawed. Bourguiba is arrested. 1936: Bourguiba is let out of prison. 1938: After violent demonstrations, Bourguiba is arrested again. In order prove their willingness to act, the French have him expelled to France.

1940: Bourguiba is transferred to Rome, Italy, because the Italians hope that they can get his support in their claim on Tunisia. Bourguiba, on the other hand, supports the Allied countries during World War 2. 1942: Bourguiba is taken to Tunisia in a Italian-German cooperation and put under German arrest. 1945: Despite the support that Bourguiba had given to the Allied countries (which include France), he has to escape Tunis, to avoid arrest by the French. He takes up residency himself in Cairo , Egypt . In the following years, Bourguiba visits many countries, where he conducts speeches about his and his country's cause. With his strong personality, he achieves a large number of diplomatic victories. 1950: The French accept Bourguiba as a Tunisian negotiator. 1952: Bourguiba is exiled to Tabarka in northern Tunisia. 1954: Negotiations between Bourguiba and the French begin. 1955 June: Bourguiba returns to an ecstatic reception in Tunis. 1956 March 20: Bourguiba becomes premier minister in newly independent Tunisia.

1957: Bourguiba deposes the Bey of Tunis, and is elected president. 1975: In 1975 the constituent assembly appoints him president for life. 1987 November 7: Bourguiba is ousted by his newly appointed prime minister, Zine el Abidine Ben Ali . He is placed under house arrest in Monastir. 1990s: Bourguiba's health is gradually diminished through arteriosclerosis. 2000 March 5: Bourguiba is hospitalized with a critical health condition, but returns to his home after 8 days.  April 6: Bourguiba dies in his home. A 7 day mourning period all over Tunisia is decreed. He is buried in his mausoleum in Monastir. Habib Bourguiba | president of Tunisia | Britannica.com president of Tunisia Alternative Title: Habib ibn Ali Bourguiba Habib Bourguiba Sukarno Habib Bourguiba, in full Habib ibn Ali Bourguiba (born Aug.

3, 1903, Monastir, Tun.—died April 6, 2000, Monastir), architect of Tunisia’s independence and first president of Tunisia (1957–87), one of the major voices of moderation and gradualism in the Arab world. Habib Bourguiba. Pierre Guillaud—AFP/Getty Images Early life Bourguiba was born the seventh child of Ali Bourguiba, a former lieutenant in the army of the bey (ruler) of Tunisia, in the small fishing village of Monastir . At an early age he was sent to the Ṣadīqī (Sadiki) College in Tunis and later to the Lycée Carnot in the same city for his secondary education. There he was introduced to French culture and Western thought, even as he consolidated his education in Arabic and Islamic studies. In 1924 he went to Paris to study law and political science at the Sorbonne, where he developed contacts with Algerian and Moroccan pro-independence intellectuals . He also absorbed many of the philosophical and ideological currents of the time and was drawn especially to the secularist and reformist traditions of French bourgeois life.

Bourguiba returned to Tunisia in 1927, where he practiced law and became engaged in the political struggle for independence, notably through the foundation in 1932 of a nationalist newspaper (L’Action Tunisienne) and his activity in the Destour (Constitution) Party. He soon became frustrated with the leaders of the Destour, whom he considered to be conservative and timid. In 1934 Bourguiba and some of his associates called a special party congress in Ksar Hellal (Qaṣr Hallāl) and established their own party—the New Destour, or Neo-Destour, Party (from 1964 to 1987 the Destourian Socialist Party [Parti Socialiste Destourien], and later the Democratic Constitutional Rally [Rassemblement Constitutionnel Démocratique])—of which Bourguiba became the secretary-general . Bourguiba encouraged his fellow Tunisians to confront the colonial rulers, resulting in his exile by the French to prison in the desolate south.

By that time he was an acknowledged leader of the developing nationalist movement, with a reputation for fiery and inspiring oration; he had become known as the combattant suprême (Arabic: al-mujāhid al-akbar). Attainment of power Upon his release from prison in 1936, Bourguiba focused his energies on building up the organizational structures of the party. He realized that the old Destour had failed to mobilize the masses because it had remained the province of urban intellectuals. To be effective, the Neo-Destour would have to develop truly national appeal, with branches in rural areas to recruit and train new party members in large numbers. He supported organized labour, in particular the establishment of the National Tunisian Union of Labour (Union Générale des Travailleurs Tunisiens), partly as a way of countering the influence of the Communist-supported General Confederation of Tunisian Workers (Confédération Générale des Travailleurs) and partly to tie working-class interests to the nationalist cause. Under his direction the party also established new organizations to mobilize students, craftsmen, farmers, and women, which would later form the organizational and institutional bases of Neo-Destour rule.

Britannica Stories Scientists Ponder Menopause in Killer Whales After a second period of internment, this time in French military prisons (1938–42), Bourguiba returned to a German-occupied Tunis. Convinced that the Allies would ultimately prevail, he refused to throw in his lot with the Germans. In 1945 he left the country for Egypt , where he continued to advocate Tunisian independence. He also traveled around Europe, East Asia, the Middle East , and the United States , attempting to win supporters to his cause and demonstrating the pragmatic , nonaligned diplomacy that would serve him so well in his later life. Returning to Tunisia in 1949, he once again toured the country. By 1950 the Destour was represented in the Tunisian government, which was negotiating relations with France . Lacking official status, Bourguiba was excluded from the talks, which themselves yielded little progress. In 1951 he traveled to Paris to try to break the deadlocked discussions. With strikes and demonstrations in favour of independence at home and the French determined to protect the interests of their settlers, tensions mounted. Structures of Government: Fact or Fiction?

Bourguiba was arrested again in 1952 and detained, first in Tunisia and later in France. In 1954, however, as Tunisian nationalists turned to terrorism, the French government began negotiations with Bourguiba, recognizing Tunisia’s internal autonomy as a first step. A new government, which included the Neo-Destour, was formed with the express purpose of negotiating an end to French rule. The first stage was completed in June 1955 when the internal autonomy convention was signed, limiting French control to matters of defense and foreign affairs. One of Bourguiba’s fellow Neo-Destour leaders, Salah Ben Youssef, argued against the accords, and the party was split, resolving in Bourguiba’s favour only after a congress in which Ben Youssef was expelled from the party. Bourguiba subsequently worked to prevent any individual from developing a power base within the party to such an extent as could threaten either party unity or Bourguiba’s own authority.

Britannica Lists & Quizzes Editor Picks: Exploring 10 Types of Basketball Movies After further negotiations the Protocol of March 20, 1956—in effect a treaty of independence—was signed between Tunisia and France. In 1957 agreement was reached, in principle, for the evacuation of French forces from the country (with the exception of a base at Bizerte ). The monarchy was abolished, and Bourguiba was elected president of the new republic. Presidency Bourguiba set about shaping the new republic in accordance with his personal vision. In 1959 the Neo-Destour won all 90 seats in the new National Assembly , and a constitution was introduced that made the assembly solely responsible for rule and order in the country. The role of Islam in Tunisian identity was recognized, although the workings of government were to be exclusively secular . Women’s rights were recognized in the 1956 Code of Personal Status, an extraordinarily radical document for its time that, among other things, banned polygamy , gave women virtual legal equality with men, enabled women to initiate divorce , introduced a legal minimum age for marriage, and gave women the right to be educated.

Education was extended throughout the country, and the curriculum was modernized to reduce religious influence. The military was firmly subordinated to civilian government, and the administration underwent a process of “Tunisification” to replace French workers with Tunisian counterparts. An experiment with a collectivist form of socialism was abandoned in 1969. The World Bank had refused to fund the program, significant sections of the agricultural community had resisted it, and the experiment failed to produce the desired increases in output; in addition, Bourguiba became convinced that the program’s primary advocate, Ahmed Ben Salah, was using it to enhance his own ambitions. During the 1970s Bourguiba oversaw an export-oriented policy, fueled by domestic oil revenues, labour remittances, and foreign borrowing. When all three sources dried up in the 1980s, the country was deeply in need of investment finance. The private sector, which had been partially subsidized by the government but equally excluded from certain areas of production and price setting, was unable to fill the gap, and the country spiraled into debt-ridden crisis, finally turning to the International Monetary Fund for a structural adjustment program in 1986.

Connect with Britannica Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram Pinterest Bourguiba’s foreign policy reflected his preference for pragmatism over ideology . He looked to the West for economic and military assistance, but that did not prevent him from engaging non-Western countries in pursuit of export markets and bilateral trade. He aspired to maintain a special relationship with France, believing that there were positive economic, cultural, and social legacies of colonialism to be exploited. Despite major crises over Tunisian support for the Algerian liberation struggle, a Tunisian attack on the French base at Bizerte , and the expropriation of settlers’ lands, Bourguiba generally managed to secure a lasting and cordial friendship between the two countries. He also worked tirelessly to develop good relations with the United States, being eager to link Tunisia in to the technologies of modernization. To the chagrin of the Arab world, he advocated a moderate and constructive position toward Israel; nonetheless, he supported the rights of the Palestinians and offered the Palestine Liberation Organization a base when it was expelled from Lebanon in 1982 (see Palestine: The dispersal of the PLO from Lebanon ).

The Neo-Destour, renamed the Destourian Socialist Party (Parti Socialiste Destourien) in 1964, retained its monopoly over domestic politics. National organizations allowed for some popular mobilization and representation, but by the 1970s liberals within the party became impatient with Bourguiba’s tendency to centralize power in himself. As dissidents within the party broke away to form their own underground political movements in the 1970s, Bourguiba became more authoritarian and detached from the party’s base. Promises of political liberalization failed to materialize. By the 1980s he was convinced that an Islamist revival threatened the country, and, following a series of bomb attacks by Islamist elements on his beloved hometown of Monastir, he ordered a ferocious assault on the leadership and ranks of the Islamic Tendency Movement (Mouvement de la Tendance Islamique). A trial ensued, exposing abuses by the country’s security forces, and Tunisia stood at the brink of political and economic crisis, prompting a constitutional coup that removed Bourguiba on the grounds of ill mental health.

Later years Open Door policy A charismatic personality, Bourguiba largely remained the father figure who led Tunisia to independence, although his own popularity had waned when he became increasingly authoritarian. By actively preventing the emergence of a successor, he essentially forced his election as president-for-life in 1975; yet, that his own removal was conducted in a peaceful and constitutional manner has been seen by both Tunisians and scholars of the country as a testament to the moderacy and desire for stability with which he imbued Tunisian politics. At the time of his ouster, Bourguiba was already age 84 and, despite his failing health, had ruled the country for 30 years. After his removal from office, he was confined to his house in Monastir by the new regime and was permitted only infrequent visitors. His death at home in 2000 after a period of prolonged illness was marked by a subdued but nonetheless respectful period of national mourning, and he was buried in his family mausoleum in Monastir.

Bourguiba, Habib Encyclopedia > History > Biographies > North African History: Biographies Habib Bourguiba Bourguiba, Habib (häˈbēb bŏrgēˈbə) [ key ], 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. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. Habib Bourguiba, Led Tunisia to Independence From France Habib Bourguiba, Led Tunisia to Independence From France By ERIC PACE abib Bourguiba, who was president of Tunisia from 1957 to 1987 after leading the country to independence from France, died Thursday. He was 96 years old and lived in Monastir, in eastern Tunisia. Bourguiba was a spectacularly durable Arab leader. He was also relatively moderate and pro-Western and did much to enhance women's rights in Tunisia. Often called the Supreme Combatant, he long dominated his North African nation as wholly as Nehru did India or Nasser did Egypt.

In the early 1960s, after he consolidated power as president, he was asked about Tunisia's political system. "The system? What system?" he exclaimed cheerfully. "I am the system!" Bourguiba acquired the title "president for life" in 1975, and he was the only president that independent Tunisia had ever had when, in November 1987, at the age of 84, he was deposed in a bloodless coup. He was ousted by his new prime minister, Zine el-Abidine ben Ali, who declared that the president was too senile and ill to govern Tunisia's 7.5 million people. Bourguiba had suffered from various ailments for years. Tunisia evolved into one of the most politically tolerant Arab countries during the Bourguiba era and for years was a showcase for development. Per capita income and literacy soared. But in the later years of Bourguiba's rule, appreciation of his past accomplishments dimmed with disillusionment over high prices, low wages and high unemployment. At the same time, demands from opposing ends of the political spectrum shook confidence in his stewardship, which had often been marred by rigged elections.

In his final years in power, Bourguiba took sweeping measures against militant Islamists, and he was deposed after he had ordered retrials and capital punishment for several of them. Ben Ali and others were afraid that if the order were carried out it would provoke civil war. But for decades Bourguiba was the fountainhead of Tunisian political life, first as the leader of the movement for independence and then, after independence in 1956, as chief of state, modernizer, women's rights pioneer and advocate of Arab moderation on the issue of Israel. In his prime he was also a shrewd politician who often preferred to outmaneuver French officials, Islamic conservatives and other adversaries rather than confront them. His tactics, dubbed "Bourguibism" by the Paris press, helped him remain as Tunisia's leader after the rulers of other Islamic nations -- the shah of Iran, the king of Libya, and strongmen in Syria and Iraq -- were overthrown. Bourguiba's relatively restrained attitude did not come naturally in Tunisia, a nation the size of Louisiana on the Mediterranean coast between Algeria and Libya. The Vandals were there in the 5th century and pirates in the 16th.

In the early 1950s, Bourguiba's aides unleashed another wave of terror and violence to wrest their homeland from the grip of France. But as president he advocated relative restraint toward Israel, even after the Israeli victory in the 1967 War, when other Arab leaders demanded revenge. In 1968, taking an approach resembling one later adopted by U.S. Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger, Bourguiba advocated a phased solution to the Middle East conflict. But his proposals were ignored in Arab capitals. Some months before the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, he called for a "just and lasting peace," citing Israel's right "not to be exterminated and thrown into the sea." But in 1973, as in 1967, he sent a token military force to show support for the Arabs. And when the guerrillas of the Palestine Liberation Organization left West Beirut in 1982 after an Israeli invasion, Tunisia -- despite misgivings -- was among the Arab countries that took them in. About 1,100 PLO members arrived by sea at Bizerte to a tumultuous welcome.

The chief greeter was Bourguiba, waving from the dock. The Bourguiba government also let the PLO set up headquarters in Tunis, which was already the headquarters of the Arab League. A quarter century earlier, soon after Tunisia became independent, Bourguiba used his power to push through a "code of personal status" that ran counter to traditional Muslim jurisprudence and custom in enhancing women's rights, a step the French had cautiously refrained from taking. Polygamy was outlawed. Marriage was redefined as a voluntary contract that conferred rights upon the wife as well as the husband. A minimum age for marriage was set, and the consent of the bride was made mandatory. These stipulations in effect outlawed the traditional practice of selling young girls. They also underscored the modern concept of marriage as a bond between two individuals rather than an alliance between two families. Bourguiba also sought to improve life for his country's seminomadic tribesmen.

In a speech to a tribal audience in 1960, he evoked a theme beloved of Arab historians, the contrast between desert and city life, in urging the audience to "follow the directions of your government so that your children and grandchildren may accede to city life -- or else you can remain attached to a primitive type of life, which condemns you to vegetate on the margins of society." Bourguiba married Wassila ben Ammar, a Tunisian from a prominent family, in 1961, the year he divorced his first wife, Mathilde Lorrain. Ben Ammar was seen as a power within the presidency, and she sought a more open and democratic society and an orderly aftermath to Bourguiba's presidency. But he divorced her in 1986 after banishing her. She died in 1999. Bourguiba is survived by a son, Habib Bourguiba Jr. nn Ask questions, give answers and tell other readers what you know. Join Abuzz , a new knowledge network from The New York Times. Bourguiba - Definition and synonyms of Bourguiba in the English dictionary. Translation of Bourguiba to 20 languages.

Bourguiba Meaning of Bourguiba in the English dictionary DICTIONARY exclamation Bourguiba is a noun. A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc. WHAT DOES BOURGUIBA MEAN IN ENGLISH? Habib Bourguiba Habib Bourguiba was a Tunisian statesman who became the country's first President of the Republic of Tunisia from 25 July 1957 to 7 November 1987. Having worked as a lawyer in France in the 1920s, he returned to Tunisia and started being more active in the country's nationalist movement. In 1934, when he was 31 years old, he co-founded the Neo Destour that spearheaded the Tunisian movement for independence. After being arrested and exiled several times by the occupying French protectorate, he decided to both negotiate and put pressure on the Fourth Republic to put forward his nationalist agenda.

Following the country's independence on the 20th of March 1956, Bourguiba puts an end to the monarchy, declares the republic of which he served as first president on 25 July 1957 and then focuses on building a modern Tunisian state. His main priorities upon taking over power included the improvement of the country's educational system, fighting gender inequality, developing the economy and maintaining a neutral foreign policy, which made him an exception among other Arab leaders.

Synonyms and antonyms of Bourguiba in the English dictionary of synonyms SYNONYMS WORDS RELATING TO «BOURGUIBA» Bourguiba bourguiba mausoleum manel school languages habib ramadan institute quotes tunisian statesman became country first president republic tunisia from july november having worked biography official site with news youngest eight brothers sisters born august monastir miles south tunis family modest encyclopedia britannica full died april architect looklex encyclopaedia type north african atatürk reduced influence religion society guaranteed rights women obituaries father known people supreme warrior fight colonial master western will remain gamal abdel nasser aware danger communism once iron Translation of «Bourguiba» into 20 languages TRANSLATOR TRANSLATION OF BOURGUIBA Find out the translation of Bourguiba to 20 languages with our English multilingual translator . The translations of Bourguiba from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «Bourguiba» in English. List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «Bourguiba».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «BOURGUIBA» OVER TIME The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «Bourguiba» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «Bourguiba» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day. Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about Bourguiba EXAMPLES 10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «BOURGUIBA» Discover the use of Bourguiba in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to Bourguiba and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature. 1 9 Dictionary of African Biography 506 BOURGUIBA, HABIB him and numerous other leaders to internal exile in the sparsely populated southern Saharan region of Tunisia. There, he languished until the electoral vic- tory of the Popular Front left-wing coalition of socialists and ...

Emmanuel Kwaku Akyeampong, Henry Louis Gates, 2012 10 The 20th Century A-GI: Dictionary of World Biography Born: August 3, 1903; Monastir, Tunisia Areas of Achievement: Government and politics Contribution: Bourguiba organized Tunisians to confront French rule and was the catalyst for independence, leading his people to nationhood in 1956. Frank N. Magill, 2013 10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «BOURGUIBA» Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term Bourguiba is used in the context of the following news items. 1 PM Inspects Several Hotels in Tunis Northern Suburbs The PM walked down the Habib Bourguiba Avenue, urging security forces to redouble vigilance to protect human lives and property. «AllAfrica.com, Jul 15» 2 Le Canada demande à ses ressortissants en Tunisie de faire preuve … ... des gouvernements d'Habib Bourguiba et de Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. ...

Chaker, je suis Abderrahmane Mami, et je suis Habib Bourguiba. «Business News, Jul 15» 3 Tunisia Grapples With Radicalization of Youth Tunisia's first post-independence president, Habib Bourguiba, and his successor, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, enacted secular measures—in many ... «Fair Observer, Jul 15» 4 One week after a Bloody Friday in Ramadan ... attributed to the accumulating bitterness within the country's hardline religious communities against the era of Habib Bourguiba's secularism. «Al-Arabiya, Jul 15» 5 L'Etat s'effondrera… Sans doute confondait-t-elle la Nation de Bourguiba bâtie par des hommes, avec sa banlieue de Lyon ou islamistes côtoient les trafiquants de ... «Business News, Jul 15» 6 Habib Essid nomme un nouveau gouverneur à Sousse Je suis Farhat Hached, je suis Ali Belahouane, je suis Hedi Chaker, je suis Abderrahmane Mami, et je suis Habib Bourguiba.

Je suis ceux qui ... «Business News, Jul 15» 7 Lutte antiterroriste : Bombardements au mont Ouergha Je suis Farhat Hached, je suis Ali Belahouane, je suis Hedi Chaker, je suis Abderrahmane Mami, et je suis Habib Bourguiba. Je suis ceux qui ... «Business News, Jul 15» 8 Tunisia ill-prepared to tackle homegrown threat as jihadi tide turns Youssef Bouhelouen, one of several casualties from the sleepy northern town of Menzel Bourguiba, was part of this first wave of departures. «The Guardian, Jul 15» 9 Tunisian Abu Iyadh, reported dead in Libya, is Qaeda veteran Ben Hassine is a native of Menzel Bourguiba in northern Tunisia. He became involved in 1980 in a movement which later became Ennahda. «Yahoo News, Jul 15» 10 How Terror Is Undermining Tunisia's Gay Rights Struggle On a blisteringly hot Ramadan day, Baabou is sitting in an otherwise empty bar in a Tunis hotel on Bourguiba Avenue.

He sports a buzz cut and ... «Worldcrunch, Jul 15» REFERENCE Tunisia Profile | African Countries | African Country Profiles | Royal African Society Home › All Africa › Tunisia Tunisia Tunisia gained its independence from France in 1956 under Habib Bourguiba. Borguiba became President after the abolition of the monarchy and creation of a Republic in 1957. Borguiba dominated the country for the next 31 years his regime yielding stability and economic progress, repressing Islamic fundamentalism, and notably establishing rights for women unmatched by any other Arab nation. During the mid 1960s Tunisia entered a short-lived Socialist period, but by the early 1970s many of the state run enterprises had been returnee to private ownership. In 1975, Bourguiba was proclaimed president for life, though his health was increasingly poor. Although he was prevailed upon to legalize opposition parties in 1981, Tunisia remained for all intents and purposes a one-party state. Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was made President of Tunisia in 1987 after Bourguiba was declared incompetent due to ill health.

Tunisia was at the time suffering economically and from a bombing campaign by Islamic extremists. Ben Ali has championed economic reforms that have strengthened Tunisia's economy and increased foreign investment. GDP per capita more than tripled in the era of his Presidency. Despite impressive growth rates, Tunisia continued to suffer from high unemployment – particularly amongst its youth. This was one of the main causes of mass protests in December 2010-January 2011 which eventually led to the ousting of Ben Ali. In response to the protests Ben Ali declared a state of emergency in the country, dissolved the government on 14 January 2011 and promised new legislative elections within six months. But on that same day Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi went on state television to say he was assuming power in Tunisia.. Ben Ali fled the country on 14 January seeking refuge in Saudi Arabia.

Reading List Habib Bourguiba; Leader Shaped Tunisia - latimes Habib Bourguiba; Leader Shaped Tunisia April 07, 2000 |DAVID LAMB and JOHN DANISZEWSKI | TIMES STAFF WRITERS CAIRO — Habib Bourguiba, who led the people of Tunisia to independence and served as the North African state's first president until being ousted in a bloodless coup more than 12 years ago, died quietly Thursday in his hometown of Monastir after a brief illness. He was 96. The man who ousted him in 1987, President Zine el Abidine ben Ali, proclaimed seven days of mourning for the onetime "supreme combatant" and father of modern Tunisia. As president, Bourguiba encouraged a shameless cult of personality while forcing Tunisia to become a highly Westernized, secular Arab country. The course he set is still followed by the country of 9 million people sandwiched between Libya and Algeria, now a playground for winter visitors from Europe. According to news service reports from Tunis, Bourguiba was hospitalized last month with respiratory problems but was well enough to return home March 13.

Since being deposed, Bourguiba had led a quiet existence in Monastir, seldom in the news except when his successor occasionally paid a visit. French President Jacques Chirac on Thursday eulogized the leader of Tunisia's long rebellion against French rule as a "man of courage and vision who symbolized the struggle for independence, the dignity of his people and the values of his country." When he turned Bourguiba out of office in 1987, then-Prime Minister Ben Ali cited incompetence, explaining to the nation that the president had become too old and senile to rule. That view was sanctioned at the time by a panel of seven physicians. There was no apparent opposition to the coup, and Ben Ali had taken the precaution of winning the consent first of senior military officers. Until his health began to fail, Bourguiba as president had made it a practice to leave his palace on the outskirts of Tunis most afternoons and walk across the street to a corner cafe for a cup of mint tea. Waving away his bodyguards, he would sit there for an hour or more, chatting with waiters, peasants and passersby. Bourguiba always enjoyed these encounters, seeing himself as the personal manager of his country.

He never doubted for a minute his ability to mesmerize the people, who held him in almost the same esteem that would be due a saint. "There is not a Tunisian who does not owe his being as a free citizen to me," Bourguiba once said. He was probably right, and this enduring leader left a considerable legacy. Using persuasion instead of coercion, and relying on his charm and confidence, he managed to bring about major social reforms while maintaining political stability, an unusual accomplishment in the Third World. Tunisia was widely regarded as a model for the transformation from backward nation to modern society. Tunisia now enjoys a literate population, a nonbelligerent foreign policy, an apolitical army and a growing economy. Polygamy has been prohibited since 1957, and birth control is advocated as part of government policy. Women have the same rights as men. During Bourguiba's rule, Tunisia created one of the first official human rights organization in Africa. The country's defense expenditures accounted for only about 2% of the national budget, probably the smallest portion in the Arab world. Meanwhile, a remarkably high 49% of the budget was allotted to education and social services.

Bourguiba even tried to place religion in a different perspective. In the mid-1960s, he shocked his Muslim countrymen by appearing on television sipping tea during Ramadan, the holy month of fasting. His message was clear: Anyone who abstains from food and drink between sunrise and sunset for four weeks is not going to have the strength to be productive, and this religious custom is a luxury no one can afford. Most Tunisians went right on fasting, but his gesture was a daring one in a conservative region where leaders can be overthrown for challenging the wisdom of Islamic tradition. Bourguiba was born Aug. 3, 1903, in Monastir, a coastal town about 100 miles southeast of Tunis. He studied at French schools in the capital and earned a law degree in Paris, where he was influenced by the intellectual left. In 1934, he formed the Neo-Destour (New Constitution) Party and began the long march toward independence, a journey interrupted by time spent in French prisons and in exile. His party's cadres were highly disciplined and organized in underground cells.

Faced with opposition from moderates within his movement, Bourguiba became more radical, promoting labor unrest, work stoppages and demonstrations. On April 9, 1938, a day commemorated in Tunisia as Martyr's Day, 122 Tunisians were killed by French troops in nationalist-inspired rioting. World War II checked the development of the nationalist movement as Tunisia fell under the rule of Vichy France. In 1942-43, Tunisia became the last battlefield between Allied and Axis forces in the struggle for North Africa. Habib Bourguiba | Article about Habib Bourguiba by The Free Dictionary Habib Bourguiba | Article about Habib Bourguiba by The Free Dictionary Also found in: Dictionary , Wikipedia . Bourguiba, Habib Born Aug. 3, 1903, in Munastir. Tunisian politician and statesman. A jurist by education and profession, Bourguiba graduated from the faculty of law at the Sorbonne and the Haute Ecole des Sciences Politiques in Paris in 1927. He had joined the Destour Party in 1922 and became the leader of its radical wing.

From 1934, after the split in the Destour Party, he became secretary-general and then chairman of the Neo-Destour Party, which became the Socialist Destour Party in 1964. As a participant in the struggle for Tunisian independence he was arrested by the French colonial authorities in 1934 and again in 1938. In 1952 he was arrested and sent out of the country. He returned in June 1955. After the proclamation of Tunisian independence in March 1956 he became head of government. He became president on July 25, 1957, and, at the same time, head of government of the Tunisian Republic until November 1969.

Question: Habib Bourguiba became the first President of which North African country in 1957?
Answer: Tunisia