
Habib Bourguiba (3 August 1903 – 6 April 2000) was President of Tunisia from 25 July 1957 to 7 November 1987, succeeding Muhammad VIII of Tunisia and preceding Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
Biography[]
Habib Bourguiba was born in Monastir, Tunisia on 3 August 1903, and he studied jurisprudence in Paris, France. Upon his return in 1921, he joined the moderate nationalist party, the Destourian Movement. In 1934, he founded the more extreme Neo Destour party, which he had just enough time to organize effectively before being imprisoned by the French in 1934. He was released in 1936, but he was again arrested in 1938. Despite his release by the Vichy government, he rejected collaboration with fascism and returned to work for greater autonomy after the return of the Free French to Tunisia in 1943. In 1945, he left the country for four years to rally international support for independence, and negotiations in 1950-1951 failed. However, violent protests in Tunisia forced the French government to the conference table, and he became Tunisia's first Prime Minister in 1956, becoming President a year later. He embarked upon a program of secularization to carry out the modernization of the society, also increasing his hold on the party and declaring himself president for life in 1975. Despite his authoritarianism, he retained strong levels of popular support due to his charisma and his reputation as the liberator of Tunisia. He failed a series of medical tests in 1987, leading to him being declared unfit for office and replaced by Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Bourguiba died in 2000.