Fethia Mokhtar Mzali ( ar, فتحيّة مزالي) (6 April 1927 – 12 February 2018) was a

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

n teacher and politician who became one of the country's first two female ministers in 1983. Her husband,

Mohammed Mzali Mohammed Mzali ( ar, محمد مزالي, 23 December 1925 – 23 June 2010) was a Tunisian politician who served as Prime Minister between 1980 and 1986. Early life Mzali was born in Monastir, Tunisia on 23 December 1925. His family has ancest ...

served as the country's

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

from 1980 to 1986.

Early life and education

Fethia Mokhtar was born on 6 April 1927 in

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

. She attended primary school at a Muslim girls' school and then the

Bardo In some schools of Buddhism, ''bardo'' ( xct, བར་དོ་ Wylie: ''bar do'') or ''antarābhava'' (Sanskrit, Chinese and Japanese: 中有, romanized in Chinese as ''zhōng yǒu'' and in Japanese as ''chū'u'') is an intermediate, transitio ...

girls school. Her secondary schooling was interrupted by

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, but completed in 1942 at

Armand Fallières Clément Armand Fallières (; 6 November 1841 – 22 June 1931) was a French statesman who was President of France from 1906 to 1913. He was born at Mézin in the ''département'' of Lot-et-Garonne, France, where his father was clerk of ...

High School in

Nérac Nérac (; oc, Nerac, ) is a commune in the Lot-et-Garonne department, Southwestern France. The composer and organist Louis Raffy was born in Nérac, as was the former Arsenal and Bordeaux footballer Marouane Chamakh, as was Admiral Francois D ...

in 1947. She obtained a degree in philosophy from the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

in 1952.

Career

Mzali was a teacher and then headmistress at the Teacher's College in Tunis. She was a member Destour and participated in the demonstrations from 1950–1955 that led to independence. In 1956, after

Tunisian independence Tunisian independence was a process that occurred from 1952 to 1956 between France and a separatist movement, led by Habib Bourguiba. He became the first Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Tunisia after negotiations with France successfully had b ...

, Mzali was one of the founders of the National Union of Women of Tunisia. In 1974, she was appointed president of the organisation, a post she held until 1986. However, her appointment under

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Habib Bourguiba has been criticised for contributing to the women's movement in Tunisia languishing under his influence. In 1957, Mzali was elected as a municipal councillor for the city of Tunis, serving a three-year term. She was first woman in Tunisia to give a speech about birth control in 1959. She joined the Central Committee of the

Socialist Destourian Party The Socialist Destourian Party ( ar, الحزب الاشتراكي الدستوري ' ; french: Parti socialiste destourien) was the ruling political party of Tunisia from 1964 to 1988. Bahi Ladgham was the first Prime Minister from the party a ...

in 1974 and was appointed a member of its governing body in 1979. She was elected to the Chamber of Deputies as the deputy for the regions of

Kairouan Kairouan (, ), also spelled El Qayrawān or Kairwan ( ar, ٱلْقَيْرَوَان, al-Qayrawān , aeb, script=Latn, Qeirwān ), is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city was founded by t ...

, Tunis and Bizerte in 1974 and 1981. She was elected Vice-President of the National Assembly each year from 1980 to 1984. On 1 November 1983, Mzali was appointed as Minister for Family and Women in the government of her husband Prime Minister

Souad Yaacoubi Souad Yaacoubi was Tunisia's Minister of Public Health The Minister for Public Health and Women's Health is a junior ministerial post in the Scottish Government. The minister is not a member of the Scottish Cabinet, however, they report to the ...

was appointed Minister of Public Health at the same time, making the two women the first to serve in the country's cabinet. Mzali was dismissed from her position in June 1986 after her husband's dismissal from the ruling party's administration. They fled the country for France, and in April 1987 Mohammed Mzali was convicted in absentia of abuse of social property and unlawful enrichment. The conviction was annulled in 2002, allowing their return to Tunisia.

Awards and honours

In 1978, Mzali accepted the

United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights The United Nations Prizes in the Field of Human Rights were instituted by United Nations General Assembly in 1966. They are intended to "honour and commend people and organizations which have made an outstanding contribution to the promotion and pr ...

on behalf of the National Union of Tunisian Women. She also received decorations from the governments of France,

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

and

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

Personal life

Mzali met Mohammed Mzali while studying in Paris and they were married in 1950. They had six children. Mzali died on 12 February 2018 at the age of 90.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mzali, Fethia 1927 births 2018 deaths 20th-century Tunisian women politicians 20th-century Tunisian politicians Government ministers of Tunisia Socialist Destourian Party politicians Women government ministers of Tunisia Politicians from Tunis