The Association de sauvegarde de la médina de Tunis (Association for the protection of the medina of Tunis) was established in 1967 to conserve the

Medina quarter A medina (from ar, مدينة, translit=madīnah, lit=city) is a historical district in a number of North African cities, often corresponding to an old walled city. The term comes from the Arabic word simply meaning "city" or "town". Histori ...

in the old heart of

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

. Its mission is "to strive for the conservation and protection of the overall traditional urban form of the Medina, its historical structures with all its distinctive elements and cultural heritage, and to take actions to ensure its preservation and enhancement." Its current president (2015) is the city's former mayor, Abbès Mohsen.

History

The Association was founded in June 1967 by

Hassib Ben Ammar Hassib Ben Ammar ( ar, حسيب بن عمار) (11 April 1924 – 15 December 2008) was a leading Tunisian politician and journalist/editor. He was a powerful campaigner for human rights. Life Politician As a young man he participated actively ...

who at the time was both the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

and the regional governor in

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

. It was born of a belated realization that the historic Medina, despite being a bedrock of local identity, was insufficiently valued, and was threatened by physical degradation or even disappearing. Ben Ammar himself served as president of The Association for two years, until 1969. The association is financed by the municipality. Since 1968 its offices have been in the Dar Lasram, a small palace in the Medina itself which the municipality purchased in 1964.

Association presidents since 1967

*1967-1969 :

*1969-1973 :

Fouad Mebazaa Fouad Mebazaa ( ar, فؤاد المبزع, Fuʾād el-Mbazaʿ; born 15 June 1933) is a Tunisian politician who was the president of Tunisia from 15 January 2011 to 13 December 2011. He was active in Neo Destour prior to Tunisian independence, ser ...

*1973-1975 : *1975-1978 : Hassen Memmi *1978-1980 : Salah Aouij *1980-1986 : Zakaria Ben Mustapha *1986-1988 : Mohamed Ali Bouleymane *1988-1990 : Ahmed Belkhodja *1990-2000 : Mohamed Ali Bouleymane *2000–present : Abbès Mohsen

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Association de sauvegarde de la medina de Tunis Organisations based in Tunisia Organisations based in Tunis Historic sites in Tunisia Organizations established in 1967 1967 establishments in Tunisia Medina of Tunis