HABIB BOURGUIBA OF TUNISIA

HABIB BOURGUIBA OF TUNISIA

Also by Derek Hopwood EGYPT: POLITICS AND SOCIETY RUSSIAN PRESENCE IN SYRIA AND PALESTINE *STUDIES IN ARAB HISTORY (editor) SYRIA: POLmCS AND SOCIETY TALES OF EMPIRE *Also from St. Martin's

Habib Bourguiba of Tunisia The Tragedy of Longevity DEREK HOPWOOD Fellow St Antony's College, Oxford Palgrave Macmillan

Derek Hopwood 1992 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1992 978-0-333-57262-7 All rights reserved. For information, write: Scholarly and Reference Division, St. Martin's Press, Inc., 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 First published in the United States of America in 1992 ISBN 978-1-349-22179-0 ISBN 978-1-349-22177-6 (ebook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-22177-6 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Hopwood, Derek. Habib Bourguiba of Tunisia: the tragedy of longevity / Derek Hopwood. p. em. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-312-07182-0 I, Bourguiba, Habib, 1903-2. Tunisia-Politics and government. I. Title. DT3264.3.B6H67 1992 961.10S'l'092-dc20 [B] 91-26388 CIP

For Joanna and Christian

Contents List of Plates Preface viii ix 1 Early Days 1 Childhood & school, 1901-24 1 Poor student in Paris, 1924-27 22 2 Struggle for Independence 29 In Tunis until the first arrest, 1927-34 29 First experience of prison, 1934-36 40 Interlude of freedom, 1936-38 45 Under arrest a second time, 1938-43 48 Life abroad, 1943-48 59 Interlude of freedom, 1948-52 70 Third imprisonment and return home, 1952-55 72 3 Tunisia under Bourguiba 80 4 Decline and Fall 95 Removal 101 5 Bourguiba the Man 106 The Complexity of Bourguiba 106 Death, a lifelong obsession 112 Illness, the constant companion 117 All Tunisia's a stage 124 Family relations 129 The tug of Islam 136 To be Arab or French? 141 6 The Changing of Names, the Unbolting of Statues 144 Notes 149 Bibliography 155 Index 157 vii

List of Plates The author and publishers wish to acknowledge the following photograph sources and to state that they have tried to contact all copyright holders; in any case where they may have failed they will be pleased to make the necessary arrangements to the first opportunity. All photographs supplied by the Ministry of Information, Tunisia, originally appeared in 'AI-Habib Bourguiba' published by the Secretariat of State for Information and Guidance, in Tunis, 1966. 1 Bourguiba at Sadiki College, 1913, seated in the middle of the front row (Ministry of Information, Tunisia). 2 Bourguiba, aged 20, with his father and brother (Ministry of Information, Tunisia). 3 Bourguiba with Mathilde and Habib Junior (Ministry of Information, Tunisia). 4 The lawyer, 1927 (Ministry of Information, Tunisia). 5 After imprisonment, 1936 (Ministry of Information, Tunisia). 6 Prison photograph, 1938 (Ministry of Information, Tunisia). 7 Disguised as a Libyan, 1945 (Ministry of Information, Tunisia). 8 Chatting to Dean Acheson, 1947 (Ministry of Information, Tunisia). 9 Crowds of welcome, 1955 (Ministry of Information, Tunisia). 10 A furtive tear, 1955 (Ministry of Information, Tunisia). 11 Lifted shoulder high, 1964 (Ministry of Information, Tunisia). 12 Aping Noel Coward? (Rex Features). 13 The private public figure (Cosmos, Paris). 14 The orator in full flow (Ministry of Information, Tunisia). 15 Bourguiba, brooking no argument (Rex Features). 16 Wasila, 1982 (Rex Features). 17 Bourguiba, arriving at the Elysee Palace in 1973 (Henri Bureau/Sygma, Paris). 18 Bourguiba in power, Twentieth Anniversary of Independence, 1976 (R. Melloul/Sygma, Paris). 19 Statues are unbolted (DR). viii

Preface The history of North Africa has been very much a French preserve until recently. The colonial background made this a natural state of affairs. Archives, studies, books, journals and newspapers have been (and often still are) in French and many Arab North Africans have used French as their main language of communication. The best library in the world for North African studies is in Aix-en-Provence (where are also large colonial archival holdings) and most of the best scholars studying the area are still French with some notable Anglophone exceptions. It was with some hesitation, therefore, that I dipped my toe into this French sea - not entirely inexperienced, as my first work was on Libya, where I lived for two years, and I have made numerous visits to other Maghreb countries, particularly Tunisia. When casting around for a suitable subject for a biography the name of Habib Bourguiba sprang immediately to mind. In previous work I had studied the heads of other Arab states and of Islamic movements and the psychology of would be leaders held a certain fascination. I wished to devote a whole work to the study of one man and of Arab leaders Bourguiba seemed to hold great promise. In addition, working on him meant that I would have to spend several months in Aix-en-Provence. There is a wealth of published material available on him, his letters and diaries to his endless speeches. Few men have been as determined to leave so complete a record of their life. There are also many people alive who knew him or worked with him. There is in addition quite a library of biographies in French, some far too hagiographic, taking Bourguiba too literally at his word, but providing, nevertheless, exploitable sources. In fact, if the latest by Sophie Bessis and Sohayr Belhassen, an authoritative, inside and detailed study, were in English there would be no need for the present work. I happily acknowledge my great debt to them. I have benefited from reading some of the many biographers of world leaders, of Hitler, Nixon, Stalin, Napoleon and others, and have tried to absorb their approach. In particular I liked the work of Vamik Volkan and Norman Itzkowitz on Ataturk and, while I cannot swallow their premises whole, many of their insights helped me ix

x Preface to understand Bourguiba much better. It is quite notable how many features the Turk and the Tunisian had in common. For Bourguiba himself I found the work of Bernard Cohen to be absolutely first class and I am sure I have been much influenced by his mixture of psychological and political analysis. My work is in no way a full-blooded psycho history - I am not qualified to write such a study - yet I could not be satisfied with a pure political biography. This is a short work intended to be a clear introduction to the life and work of the man, deliberately aimed at the generally informed reader. No previous knowledge of North African history is assumed. As I did not want this to be just a chronological political history I pondered over the structure of the book. I am not sure I have arrived at the best solution, a mix of straight narrative and analysis by theme. This approach has meant some repetition which is, I assure the reader, intentional and not a result of carelessness. Finally, I would like to thank all those at the Institut de Recheches et d'etudes sur Ie Monde Arabe et Musulman in Aix who have been so kind and so helpful, in particular the ex-director Andre Raymond, the present director Michel Camau, the librarians Vivien Michel and Marie-Jo Bianquis, and the secretary Noel Fourgan. There could have been no more convivial place in which to work. The warmth of their welcome matched the warmth of the climate. DEREK HOPWOOD