Habib Bourguiba on 8 April, in the afternoon, in his mausoleum. After a short ceremony at the Hanafi Mosque of Bourguiba, his body was transported on a gun carriage, coated with the national flag and carried by a military vehicle framed by detachments of the Tunisian army. Among the foreign guests were French President Jacques Chirac, Algerian Bouteflika, Palestinian Yasser Arafat and Egyptian Hosni Mubarak. After the burial, President Ben Ali pronounced a eulogy in which he paid a tribute to the "Loyal and devoted fight" of Bourguiba for Tunisia. The funeral conditions were, however, submitted to the criticism of international media
Habib Bourguiba the constituents of Monastir, as the Neo-Destour candidate. On 8 April, the assembly held its opening session, chaired by M'hamed Chenik while Al-Amine bey attended the ceremony. The same day, Bourguiba was elected as President of the National Constituent Assembly and gave a speech, summarizing his ambitions for the country: With this new start, Tahar Ben Ammar's mission as head of government had ended and therefore, he delivered his resignation to al-Amine bey. Therefore, the Neo-Destour nominated Bourguiba to be their candidate for the office, on 9 April. Bourguiba accepted and was officially invited by the bey, three days after