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
Habib Bourguiba was a Women's rights defender, Bourguiba based this law on his ideas, emancipating women, despite the then-conservative public opinion. Bourguiba understood the opposition he would face but decided to act, before even building the Republic. Nevertheless, he was supported by some religious personalities, such as Mohamed Fadhel Ben Achour, who defended Bourguiba's reform, stating that the CPS are possible interpretations of Islam. However, others did not share these views and said that the CPS was violating Islamic norms. The Personal Status Code would, then, constitute the fundamental legacy of Habib Bourguiba, to the point of becoming a sort of consensus