Habib Bourguiba his election as head of the assembly, to form a cabinet. On 15 April, Bourguiba introduced his cabinet including one deputy prime minister, Bahi Ladgham, two state ministers, eleven ministers and two secretaries of state. Furthermore, Bourguiba combined the offices of Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defense. Therefore, he became the 20th Head of government of Tunisia and the second of the Kingdom of Tunisia. He expressed, once officially inaugurated as Prime minister, his will to "enforce sovereignty bases by perfecting the means inside the country and abroad, put this sovereignty only under the service of Tunisian's interests, implementing a
Habib Bourguiba in a liberal secular atmosphere, Bourguiba's presidency or "reign" ended in a climate of economic and financial crisis. In order to avoid his recovery by opponents, Bourguiba was evacuated from Carthage Palace, a few days after 7 November 1987, to be transferred into a house in Mornag then, to Monastir, on 22 October 1988 where he enjoyed medical assistance. He stated being well treated by the new regime. Suffering from numerous health problems, including slurred speech and attention, Bourguiba went through serious diseases, during the 1990s. He was, sometimes, visited by foreigns and President Ben Ali. On 5 March 2000,