Former Tunisian leader Habib Bourguiba dies at 96

April 6, 2000
Web posted at: 10:48 a.m. EDT (1448 GMT)

In this story: Mourning period declared Bourguiba long dominated Tunisian politics Respected by the West RELATED STORIES, SITES

TUNIS, Tunisia -- Former President Habib Bourguiba, who led Tunisia's fight for independence, died Thursday morning at age 96, officials said.

"The leader Habib Bourguiba, former president of the republic, had died this morning at 9:50 local time (0850GMT) at his residency, at Monastir," a presidential spokesman said in an official statement.

Bourguiba was once known as president for life and was credited with founding modern-day Tunisia. He was deposed in a 1987 bloodless palace coup.

Mourning period declared

Bourguiba was hospitalized March 5 in critical condition at the military hospital in Tunis. But on March 13, he returned to his hometown of Monastir, 176 kilometers (110 miles) south of Tunis. Just two days ago, family members reported he was doing well.

There was no immediate information on the exact cause of Bourguiba's death.

President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali declared a seven-day period of national mourning starting Thursday, the official statement said. Ben Ali, who had toppled Bourguiba in the coup, visited the hospitalized former leader on March 9.

Bourguiba's body was taken to the Tunis headquarters of the Constitutional Democratic Rally, the ruling party, for a last tribute. On Saturday, a national funeral will be held at the Bourguiba family's memorial in Monastir, a spokesman said.

Bourguiba long dominated Tunisian politics

For more than 30 years, Bourguiba dominated the political scene in Tunisia. But on November 7, 1987, Ben Ali, a former interior minister who had been newly appointed prime minister, removed Bourguiba from office for "incompetence," saying he had become too old, senile and sick to rule the Muslim nation of 7.5 million.

After he was stripped of power, the symbols of Bourguiba's rule were slowly dismantled. Statues of Bourguiba were taken down, including the colossal equestrian sculpture that stood at the top of Tunis' main thoroughfare -- Avenue Habib Bourguiba.

As a flamboyant provincial lawyer, Bourguiba had founded the Neo-Destour nationalist movement in the 1930s, a movement dedicated to ending French colonial rule. Bourguiba spent more than 11 years in French prisons on sedition charges before finally achieving his objective in 1956 -- total independence for Tunisia.

Respected by the West

Bourguiba was born in the port of Monastir on August 3, 1903, the son of an army officer. One of his first acts in power was to abolish the French-backed Tunisian monarchy that had employed his father, replacing it with a republic with himself as president.

Until his decline in health, Bourguiba was among the world's most respected elder statesmen. He was credited with setting his small North African nation on a course of moderation and modernization.

Despite his anti-colonialist record and his authoritarian rule, he was one of the most consistently pro-Western leaders in Africa and the Arab world, and deliberately turned Tunisia into the most Westernized Muslim nation.

He fought against what he regarded as outdated Islamic traditions and angered fundamentalists by granting equal rights to women and discouraging the monthlong holy fast of Ramadan.

"A modern nation cannot afford to stop for a month every year," he once said, drinking orange juice on television during Ramadan.

In 1971, Bourguiba became the first Arab leader publicly to advocate mutual recognition with Israel. He lived to see his idea become the official policy of the Arab League more than a decade later.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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