Habib Bourguiba Bourguiba met with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in Jerba. This one introduced him the idea of a union between Libya and Tunisia. At the end of the interview, the Tunisian minister of Foreign Affairs, Mohamed Masmoudi stated: "The two countries will form a single republic, the Arab Islamic Republic, with a single constitution, one flag, one president, one army and the same executive, legislative and judicial. A referendum will be organized on January 18, 1974". At the airport, Bourguiba declared to journalists: However, due to opposition inside the country and abroad, Bourguiba was forced to abandon the project, claiming the
Early political career of Habib Bourguiba presence in the executive committee could have been useful", he recalled years later. Bourguiba, who thought the Destour and its leadership to be obstacles to his ambitions, decided to resign from the party on September 9. He soon learned from this experience. The success obtained thanks to popular violent uprisings shows the failure of Destourians' favorite methods, consisting of petitions and telegrams. Only violence by determined groups could lead the Residence to step back and negotiate political solutions. That would be his guideline until 1956. Early political career of Habib Bourguiba The early political career of Habib Bourguiba began in