Tunisia: Tunisia since Independence

Tunisia since Independence

In 1955, France granted Tunisia complete internal self-government. Full independence was negotiated in 1956, and Habib Bourguiba became prime minister. The country became a republic in 1957 when the bey, Sidi Lamine, was deposed by a vote of the constituent assembly, which then made Bourguiba president. Bourguiba followed a generally pro-Western foreign policy, but relations with France were strained over Algerian independence, which Tunisia supported, and the evacuation of French troops from Tunisia. The French naval installations at Bizerte were the scene of violent confrontation in 1961; France finally agreed to evacuate them in 1963.

Relations between Tunisia and Algeria deteriorated after the latter gained its independence from France in 1962, and border disputes between the two countries were not settled until 1970. Bourguiba's support for a negotiated settlement with Israel in the Arab-Israeli conflict caused strains in its relations with other Arab countries. Domestically, Bourguiba's policies emphasized modernization and planned economic growth. An agrarian reform plan, involving the formation of cooperatives, was begun in 1962, but it was halted in 1969 due to harsh implementation and corruption.

The 1970s saw increasing conflict within the ruling Destour party between liberals and conservatives, as well as public demonstrations against the government. However, Bourguiba's socialist government enjoyed a long period of favorable relations with France and became a moderating influence in the Arab League. In 1981, Bourguiba authorized the legal formation of opposition political parties, indicating a possible shift in the direction of democracy, and multiparty legislative elections were held for the first time in 1981. By 1986, six opposition parties had legal status. Nonetheless, the 1980s were largely characterized by popular unrest and labor difficulties, as well as a search for the aging Bourguiba's successor.

In 1987, Bourguiba was ousted by Gen. Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, ostensibly for reasons of senility. The new regime restored diplomatic relations with Libya and signed a treaty of economic cooperation with Libya, Algeria, Mauritania, and Morocco (see under Maghreb). Ben Ali initially moved toward liberal reforms, but after the 1989 elections, in which Islamic activists made a strong showing, he instituted repressive measures against them. During the 1994 election campaign, the government arrested political dissidents and barred the Islamic party Al Nahda from participating. Running uncontested and endorsed by all the legal opposition parties, Ben Ali drew nearly 100% of the vote.

In 1999, Ben Ali was again reelected with nearly 100% of the vote; he faced a token challenge from two opposition candidates. A constitutional amendment, approved in 2002 in a referendum by a similar margin, permitted the president to run for more than two terms. In 2004 and 2009 Ben Ali was reelected a lopsided share (94% and 89%) of the vote; he again faced only token opposition. The landslide victories of Ben Ali and the government party were marked by intimidation and credible accusations of vote-rigging.

In Dec., 2010, protests began against Ben Ali's government, sparked by the self-immolation of an unlicensed vendor who had his stall confiscated by police and fed by anger over high unemployment, rising prices, and government corruption. The demonstrations continued into the next month, and intensified after police killed a number of protesters. Ben Ali's rule collapsed in a matter of weeks, and he went into exile in Jan., 2011. He later was convicted in absentia of embezzlement and other charges.

An interim government was formed, with Fouad Mebazza, the parliament speaker, as president and Mohamed Ghannouchi remaining as prime minister. Though the cabinet included opposition members, the presence of former ruling party officials in the government was opposed by some, and the political environment remained unsettled. Ghannouchi resigned the following month and Beji Caid Essebsi succeeded him. Elections for a constituent assembly (to write a new constitution and form an interim government) were planned for July, but subsequently they were postponed to Oct. 2011.

The moderate Islamist Ennahda, led by Rachid Ghannouchi, won more than two fifths of seats in the assembly, with most of the rest of the seats going to several left-of-center parties and independents. Ennahda formed a coalition with secular opposition parties, and in December Moncef Marzouki of the Congress for the Republic party was elected president; Ennahda's Hamadi Jebali was appointed prime minister. A draft constitution that reduced women's rights led to protests against the Islamist-led government in Aug., 2012, and the one-year deadline for adoption of a new constitution subsequently passed without agreement on a text. Secular parties concerned over persistent Islamist violence quit the government after the Feb., 2013, assassination of Chokri Belaid, a secular politician. Ennahda refused to back Jebali's attempt to form a technocratic government, and after he resigned, Ennahda's Ali Larayedh became (March) prime minister of a new government with two secular parties; several prominent cabinet posts went to independents.

The assassination of opposition politician Mohamed Brahmi in July led to a new round of protests against the government and calls for a government of national unity. In September Ennahda agreed to talks proposed by the National Dialogue Quartet on establishing a caretaker government, adopting a constitution, and holding new elections, in October a road map for the process was finalized, and in Jan., 2014, Medhi Jomaa, a former industry minister, became caretaker prime minister. Also in January, the constituent assembly approved a new constitution, which reduced the powers of the president.

In the Oct., 2014, elections, Nidaa Tunis, an alliance of former Ben Ali officials, businesses, intellectuals, and unionists, won the largest number of seats, with Ennahda placing second. In the November presidential election, former interim prime minister Essebsi, the Nidaa Tunis candidate, placed first, and Marzouki second; Essebsi won the December runoff. In Feb., 2015, a government was formed that included Nidaa Tunis, Ennahda, and two additional parties, with Habib Essid as prime minister. Tunisian Islamist militants targeted tourist sites in deadly attacks (March, June) in 2015, which hurt the tourist industry into subsequent years, and there was fighting with militants along the Libyan border in Mar., 2016.

In July, 2016, deteriorating economic conditions resulted in Essid's losing a no-confidence vote. A unity government headed by Youssef Chahed took office in August, but it subsequently experienced cabinet tensions, which continued into 2018. An International Monetary Fund aid package contingent on economic policy changes led in 2018 to the introduction of austerity measures, which provoked sometimes violent protests in Jan., 2018. In Nov., 2018, Chahed, who had broken with Essebsi and Nidaa Tunis and formed the National Coalition bloc, formed a new government that did not include Nidaa Tunis. Essebsi died in July, 2019, and parliament speaker Mohamed Ennaceur became interim president.

In October, Kais Saied, a retired professor and social conservative who ran as an independent but had both leftist and Islamist support, was elected president after a runoff. In the parliamentary elections, Ennahda secured the largest bloc of seats but won only three quarters of the seats it had held; Heart of Tunisia, a new party led by businessman Nabil Karoui (who lost the presidential runoff), placed second; and Nidaa Tunis lost nearly all its seats. A new government, headed by Elyes Fakhfakh and supported by Ennahda and nine other parties, was finally formed in Feb., 2020; Heart of Tunisia did not support the government. In July, however, Fakhfakh resigned after he was accused of a conflict of interest (because he owned shares in a company that had received government contracts) and Ennahda threatened to call a no-confidence vote. Hichem Mechichi, the former interior minister, became prime minister of a technocratic government in September. However, mounting protests over the economy and spead of COVID-19 lead President Saied to suspend parliament and remove Mechichi as prime minister in July 2021. Saied has continued to consolidate his power, ruling by decree, although promising to have a vote to amend the constitution in July 2022 followed by parliamentary elections that December.

Sections in this article:

Introduction
Tunisia since Independence
European Influence and Nationalist Aspirations
Early History
Government
Economy
Land and People
Bibliography

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