Tag: Habib Bourguiba

TUNISIA: Hedi Nouira: The Architect of Tunisia’s Economic Renewal in Post-Independence

Hedi Amara Nouira was born in Monastir in April 1911 and was trained as a lawyer. In 1934, he assisted Habib Bourguiba establish the Neo-Destour Party, a radical branch of the nationalist Destour Party. In the 1950s, the party campaigned for independence, and Nouira served as its representative in Paris.

After the country gained independence from France in March 1956, he served as Finance Minister and was the first governor of Tunisia’s central bank.

Back then, the newly independent country’s lawmakers appointed Bourguiba prime minister, and he became president after the monarchy was officially abolished the following year. He ruled as a monarch for three decades, securing a 1974 revision of the Constitution that made him president for life and confirmed Nouira as his chosen successor.

Throughout the 1970s, as Habib Bourguiba’s health and mental capacity worsened, he progressively assumed control of the country’s daily operations. Considered the architect of Tunisia’s economic renewal in the 1960s, Nouira was criticized in the 1970s by workers for the government’s harsh labor policies and attacks on labor union headquarters.

During his tenure, the economy thrived, and double-digit growth was achieved, which validated him in his roles and kept him in the prime minister’s office for ten years.

Hédi Nouira was an expert in both international history and modern economics. He had a thorough understanding of the territory and the Tunisians, the vast majority of whom desired central rule and resisted any form of excess. He wanted Tunisia to become the Singapore of Africa. He knew how to build his credibility, his authority, and his leadership. He was rationally liberal, socially-minded, pragmatic, and realistic in his perspective.

He restored confidence in the coutnry economy by his speeches, way of action, and personal commitment.   State, employers, and UGTT initiate a session of social discussions every three years in order to provide greater visibility and less uncertainty for businesses and ensure social peace. Salaries and productivity go hand in hand. That was the policy.

Hédi Nouira knew where to lead the country and how to lead reform. He said what he did and did what he said, despite the danger of alienating strong supporters of social and economic progress. It revived the economy in so few years and put it on an Asian-style growth orbit, with yearly growth peaks exceeding 17%. His ten years in office will be remembered as the “ten glorious ones” in the country’s history. He rebuilt the state’s coffers and created more jobs and income than in the previous decade. He sought to bring Tunisia to the top of Africa. This ambition inspired the birth of the Tunisian dream.

After El Hedi Nouira’s stroke in February 1980, he was replaced by then-Education Minister Mohammed Mzali, who practically became the President’s heir apparent. In November 1987, however, Interior Minister Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali overthrew Bourguiba in a coup and claimed the presidency.

source/content: carthagemagazine.com (headline edited)

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TUNISIA

ARABS in PARIS: A Walking Tour of the French Capital’s Celebration of Middle Eastern Personalities

Back in 1729, the Parisian authorities introduced the French capitals iconic blue-and-green street name plaques, topped with a little “Napoleon’s hat” containing the number of the street’s arrondissement.

The plaques honor France and the world’s leading politicians, philosophers, artists, writers, and scientists, including a number associated with the Arab world. French President Emmanuel Macron has previously proposed renaming some of the capital’s streets to include more personalities from ethnic minorities, but that has not yet happened. Still, there are enough Arab names to comprise a walking tour around Paris — including a president, a poet, a pop star and more. 

Esplanade Habib Bourguiba, 7th arrondissement 

With a wonderful view of the Grand Palais, this large, peaceful stretch of greenery is named after independent Tunisia’s first president, Habib Bourguiba. The secular leader was in charge between 1957 and 1987, and was famously a supporter of women’s rights. Next to his plaque, there is a bronze bust of the leader looking towards the River Seine, with his name written in Arabic underneath. 

Promenade Gisèle Halimi, 7th arrondissement

Gisèle Halimi in Paris. (AFP)

An admirer of Bourguiba, Halimi was a Tunisian-born French lawyer, feminist, and former member of the National Assembly in France. She died in 2020, aged 93, and this sloping pathway was named after her last year. Halimi’s life of hardships shaped the respected career she had. When she was born, her father hid her — ashamed of her gender. She went on a hunger strike at 10 and, at 16, rejected an arranged marriage, going on to study law in Paris. Halimi is perhaps best known for a 1972 trial, in which she defended a minor who had an abortion after being raped. It was a key event that propelled the country into legalizing abortion in 1975. 

Place Mahmoud Darwich, 6th arrondissement 

Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoe (second from right) and Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas (second from left) unveil on June 14, 2010 in Paris the new Mahmoud Darwich esplanade named after the Palestinian poet who died Aug. 9, 2008. (AFP)

In 2010, just two years after the death of Palestine’s most famous poet Mahmoud Darwish, a square in Paris was inaugurated in his honor. Known for his writings on home, memory, and exile, Darwish spent many years outside of his native land. He lived in Beirut, Cairo, Tunis, and Paris. He had a special connection with the latter, describing it as the place where his “true poetic birth” happened. The plaque is situated in a district the poet reportedly liked, on the banks of the Seine and near the classical buildings of Institut de France and Monnaie de Paris.

Paris Massacre of 1961 memorial, 4th arrondissement

A few minutes away from Notre Dame Cathedral stands an unassuming but sobering reminder of how an Arab collective suffered during the turbulent Sixties. In 1961, when Algeria was seeking independence, a group of Algerian protesters were attacked by the police and some of their bodies were thrown into the Seine. In 2021, to mark the 60th anniversary of this horrific event, Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo inaugurated a memorial artwork, made of metal with silhouettes of heads carved out, in remembrance of those who lost their lives. 

Maison de Dalida, 18th arrondissement 

Between 1962 and 1987, the blonde bombshell diva Dalida, who was born to Italian parents in Egypt, lived in this four-story townhouse in hilly Montmartre, a quiet area outside of the bustling city center of the city that is historically associated with artists. Dalida sang in a variety of languages, including French, Italian, and Arabic. “Salma Ya Salama” and “Helwa Ya Baladi” are some of her most loved Arabic songs. Sadly, it was in this house that she committed suicide in 1987, as a result of tragedies in her personal life. The plaque on her house reads: “Her friends from Montmartre will not forget her.” 

Maison de Gibran Khalil Gibran, 15th arrondissement 

The acclaimed Lebanese-born poet and philosopher — and author of “The Prophet” — Khalil Gibran is well-known as a member of the Arab diaspora in 20th-century America. But he also lived in France for a time. Between 1908 and 1910, Gibran, who was then in his twenties, studied painting at Académie Julian in Paris. His stay in the city was made possible by the financial backing of American philanthropist, editor and Gibran’s lover Mary Haskell, who was 10 years his senior.

source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)

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A memorial to remember the 1961 attack on Algerian protesters by the police in Paris. (Supplied)

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ARABS IN PARIS, FRANCE