Moncer Rouissi (9 September 1940 – 5 January 2021) was a Tunisian politician and diplomat.

Biography

Rouissi studied sociology, literature, and social sciences at the

University of Toulouse The University of Toulouse (french: Université de Toulouse) was a university in the French city of Toulouse that was established by papal bull in 1229, making it one of the earliest universities to emerge in Europe. Suppressed during the Frenc ...

. He then earned a degree in demography at the

University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

, as well as a doctorate in sociology at the

School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences The School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (french: École des hautes études en sciences sociales; EHESS) is a graduate '' grande école'' and '' grand établissement'' in Paris focused on academic research in the social sciences. Th ...

. He became a senior executive for the Union générale des étudiants de Tunisie in

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...

and

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 ...

. As a member of the union, he attended conferences put on by the likes of Alain Touraine,

Pierre Bourdieu Pierre Bourdieu (; 1 August 1930 – 23 January 2002) was a French sociologist and public intellectual. Bourdieu's contributions to the sociology of education, the theory of sociology, and sociology of aesthetics have achieved wide influence ...

Raymond Aron Raymond Claude Ferdinand Aron (; 14 March 1905 – 17 October 1983) was a French philosopher, sociologist, political scientist, historian and journalist, one of France's most prominent thinkers of the 20th century. Aron is best known for his 19 ...

, Georges Gurvitch, and

Jacques Berque Jacques Augustin Berque (4 June 1910, Molière, Algeria – 27 June 1995) was a French scholar of Islam and sociologist of the Collège de France. His expertise was the decolonisation of Algeria and Morocco. Berque wrote several histories on th ...

. Rouissi returned to

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

in 1966 and joined the Centre d'études et de recherches économiques et sociales, where he wrote numerous articles and collective works and contributed to scientific studies. He wrote essays such as ''Une oasis du Sud tunisien, le Jarid, Essai d'histoire sociale'' and ''Population et société au Maghreb''. In 1979, the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

sent him on a 13-month mission to Syria, and then a mission to

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

from 1980 to 1983. In 1987, when

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 ...

came to power, he made Rouissi his advisor. He accompanied Ben Ali on his first trip to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

in 1988 and to the United Nations in 1989. He became the campaign manager for Ben Ali in the

1989 Tunisian general election General elections were held in Tunisia on 2 April 1989. It was the first time presidential elections had been held since 1974, as Habib Bourguiba had been declared President-for-life the following year. However, his replacement, Zine El Abidine ...

. He was subsequently appointed Minister of Social Affairs, a position he held until 1991. He then became

Minister of Culture A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organizatio ...

for eight months and thereafter was a minister-advisor to the

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 ...

. He also served as Minister of Vocational Training and Employment and Minister of Education. On 29 September 2003, Rouissi was appointed Ambassador of Tunisia to France. After holding this position, he served in the

Chamber of Advisors The Chamber of Advisors ( ar, مجلس المستشارين, '), also called Chamber of Councillors, was the upper house of the Parliament of Tunisia. It was created by a 2002 amendment to the Tunisian constitution and was replaced by a unicamer ...

and became President of the Higher Committee for Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. He was also a member of the central committee of the

Democratic Constitutional Rally The Democratic Constitutional Rally or Democratic Constitutional Assembly ( ar, التجمع الدستوري الديمقراطي ', french: Rassemblement Constitutionnel Démocratique, sometimes also called Constitutional Democratic Rally in E ...

from July 2003 until its dissolution on 9 March 2011. Alongside Salah Baccari, Rouissi wrote President Ben Ali's final speech, given on 13 January 2011 just before the end of the

Tunisian Revolution The Tunisian Revolution, also called the Jasmine Revolution, was an intensive 28-day campaign of civil resistance. It included a series of street demonstrations which took place in Tunisia, and led to the ousting of longtime president Zine El ...

. Rouissi's appointment of the

Second cabinet of Mohamed Ghannouchi During the Tunisian Revolution President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled Tunisia on 14 January 2011 Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi then briefly took over as Acting President. On the morning of 15 January 2011 Ghannouchi had handed over the presid ...

angered the population of Tunisia greatly. He officially left the Democratic Constitutional Party on 20 January 2011, and left the government one week later. Moncer Rouissi died on 5 January 2021 at the age of 80 from COVID-19.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rouissi, Moncer 1940 births 2021 deaths Ambassadors of Tunisia to France Government ministers of Tunisia Members of the Chamber of Advisors People from Tozeur University of Toulouse alumni School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences alumni Democratic Constitutional Rally politicians Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Tunisia