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
Early life of Habib Bourguiba her, the unfortunate, a catastrophe. She was already forty years old. Many of her pregnancies weakened her. I was told that when she gave birth to me, she was so ashamed of having a child at that age that she stifled her cries for deliverance while gritting her teeth with a towel placed in her mouth. Nevertheless, she was relieved to give birth to a boy, avoiding the catastrophe that would have been that of a girl. That was how Habib Bourguiba, last of his siblings was born. Despite his financial difficulties, Ali Bourguiba dedicated a great deal of attention