Hédi Mabrouk (1921–2000) was a Tunisian statesman, diplomat and politician. After serving as governor of different provinces between 1956 and 1962 he headed various state-owned companies. He was the ambassador of Tunisia to France from 1973 to 1985 and the minister of foreign affairs for one year between 1986 and 1987. He was the last foreign minister of the

Habib Bourguiba Habib Bourguiba (; ar, الحبيب بورقيبة, al-Ḥabīb Būrqībah; 3 August 19036 April 2000) was a Tunisian lawyer, nationalist leader and statesman who led the country from 1956 to 1957 as the prime minister of the Kingdom of T ...

era and also, was also one of his allies.

Early years and education

Mabrouk was born in

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

on 7 April 1921. His family were from

Monastir, Tunisia Monastir, also called Mestir ( ar, المنستير ', from the Greek "hermit's cell, monastery"), is a city on the central coast of Tunisia, in the Sahel area, some south of Sousse and south of Tunis. Traditionally a fishing port, Monastir is ...

. He was a graduate of the

University of Algiers The University of Algiers (Arabic language, Arabic:جامعة الجزائر – بن يوسف بن خـدة ), commonly called the Algiers 1 University, is a public university, public research university located in Algiers, Algeria. It is the ...

, Algeria.

Career

Mabrouk started his career in 1939. He was the governor of

Sbeitla Sbeitla or Sufetula ( ber, Sbitla or Seftula, ar, سبيطلة ') is a small town in west-central Tunisia. Nearby are the Byzantine ruins of Sufetula, containing the best preserved Byzantine forum temples in Tunisia. It was the entry point of the ...

from 1956 to 1958. Next he was appointed governor of

Gafsa Gafsa ( aeb, ڨفصة '; ar, قفصة qafṣah), originally called Capsa in Latin, is the capital of Gafsa Governorate of Tunisia. It lends its Latin name to the Mesolithic Capsian culture. With a population of 111,170, Gafsa is the ninth-la ...

in 1958 which he held until 1960 when he was named as the governor of

Kef Kef may refer to: Places * El Kef (also transliterated as ''Al-Kāf'' or ''Le Kef''), a city in northwestern Tunisia *Kef Governorate, Tunisia Others *''Aram Bajakian's Kef'', a 2011 album by guitarist Aram Bajakian * ISO 639:kef or Ewe languag ...

. His tenure ended in 1962. Then he began to head some state-owned companies. He was the president of the Tunisian State Shipping Company between 1962 and 1966. He served as the director general and president of the

International Harvester The International Harvester Company (often abbreviated by IHC, IH, or simply International ( colloq.)) was an American manufacturer of agricultural and construction equipment, automobiles, commercial trucks, lawn and garden products, household e ...

company based in Tunis in 1966. Next year he was named as the general commissioner of textiles and the president of the National Federation of Exporters. In 1973 he was made the director of the central administration at the Ministry of National Economy. On 1 December 1973 he was named as the ambassador of Tunisia to France and was in office in 1985. His successor was

Mahmoud Mestiri Mahmoud Mestiri (25 December 1929 in Tunis – 28 June 2006) was a Tunisian diplomat and politician, who served as the minister of foreign affairs from 1987 to 1988. He was serving as the ambassador of Tunisia when he was appointed to the post. I ...

. In September 1986 Mabrouk was appointed minister of foreign affairs, replacing

Beji Caid Essebsi Beji Caid Essebsi (or es-Sebsi; ar, الباجي قائد السبسي, translit=Muhammad al-Bājī Qā’id as-Sibsī, ; 29 November 1926 – 25 July 2019) was a Tunisian politician who served as the 6th president of Tunisia from 31 December 20 ...

in the post who had been removed from the post by the Tunisian President Habib Bourguiba. Mabrouk served in the post under

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 is not ...

Rachid Sfar Rachid Sfar ( ar, رشيد صفر; born September 11, 1933), is the former Prime Minister of Tunisian President Habib Bourguiba, was born in Mahdia, the ancient Fatimite capital of Tunisia. He is the son of the Destourian leader Tahar Sfar, an ...

. Mabrouk's term ended in November 1987 when President Bourguiba was deposed by

Zine El Abidine Ben Ali Zine El Abidine Ben Ali ( ar, زين العابدين بن علي, translit=Zayn al-'Ābidīn bin 'Alī; 3 September 1936 – 19 September 2019), commonly known as Ben Ali ( ar, بن علي) or Ezzine ( ar, الزين), was a Tunisian politician ...

and a new cabinet was formed. Mabrouk learned this incident in

Amman Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...

, Jordan, while attending an Arab summit meeting and was replaced by Mahmoud Mestiri as foreign minister.

Alliances

Mabrouk was one the three individuals belonging to the inner circle of Habib Bourguiba. The others were Bourguiba's niece Sassi and Mansour Skhiri. Mabrouk had a very good command of French and was the writer of the articles signed by Bourguiba which were published in various media outlets.

Later years and death

Mabrouk retired from politics after his dismissal from office in 1987. He died on 15 June 2000. In 2012 his memoirs were published by the Sud Press under the title ''Feuilles d’Automne'' (French: Autumn Leaves).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mabrouk, Hedi 1921 births 2000 deaths Foreign ministers of Tunisia People from Tunis Ambassadors of Tunisia to France 20th-century diplomats University of Algiers alumni