Habib Bourguiba these commitments, only the spirit of Article 39 (establishing the life presidency) would prevail. The end of his reign was marked by a war of succession, the weakening of the left and the emergence of the Islamist movement and patrimonialism. In 1925, while he was a student in Paris, Habib Bourguiba met Mathilde Lorrain with whom he settled. During summer vacations back in Tunis, he learned that she was pregnant: Habib Bourguiba Jr., his only child, was born on 9 April 1927 in Paris. The couple married in August of the same year, after their return to Tunisia. After independence,
Habib Bourguiba Mathilde obtained Tunisian citizenship, converted to Islam and adopted the name of Moufida. On 21 July 1961, they ended up divorcing. On 12 April 1962, Bourguiba married Wassila Ben Ammar, a woman from a family of Tunis bourgeoisie he had known for 18 years. Together, they adopted a girl named Hajer. Wassila took a larger part in politics over the deteriorating health of her husband, which would give her the title of "Majda" (Venerable). Their divorce, on 11 August 1986, with a mere statement and without any respected legal proceedings, largely contributed in the fall of the regime. Habib Bourguiba