Habib Bourguiba Habib Bourguiba Habib Ben Ali Bourguiba ( "al-Ḥabīb Būrqībah"; 3 August 1903 – 6 April 2000) was a Tunisian lawyer, nationalist leader and statesman who served as the country's leader from independence in 1956 to 1987. He first served as the second Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Tunisia before proclaiming the Tunisian Republic in 1957 and thus becoming the first President of Tunisia. Prior to that, he played a major role in obtaining independence from France, ending the 75 years old protectorate and earning the title of "Supreme Combatant". Bourguiba was born in Monastir into a modest family as
Early political career of Habib Bourguiba drafting committee was formed that included Habib and M'hamed Bourguiba, Bahri Guiga, Tahar Sfar, Mahmoud El Materi and Ali Bouhageb, who also managed the publishing firm. Béchir Mehedhbi, a final year student, took charge of the editorial office. As for the newspaper headquarters, they were settled in the back of the Bouhageb pharmacy. In the midst of an economic crisis that mainly affected lower classes, "L'Action Tunisienne" published its first edition on November 1, 1932. Bourguiba, who studied public finance during his university studies of political science in Paris, devoted his first article to the budget, which he called the