Rafik Bouchlaka is a Tunisian politician. He served as the
minister of foreign affairs
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
under Prime Minister
Hamadi Jebali
Hamadi Jebali ( ar, حمادي الجبالي, '; born 12 January 1949) is a Tunisian engineer, Muslim politician and journalist who was Prime Minister of Tunisia from December 2011 to March 2013. He was the Secretary-General of the Ennahda Move ...
.
[Sana Ajmi]
Rafik Abdessalem
, ''Tunisia Live'', 17 December 2011[Biographie de M. Rafik Abdessalem, nouveau ministre des Affaires étrangères](_blank)
''Business News'', 25 December 2011
Education
Abdessalem received a bachelor's degree in philosophy from
Mohammed V University
Mohammed V University (, french: Université Mohammed-V de Rabat), in Rabat, Morocco, was founded in 1957 under a royal decree ( Dahir). It is the first modern university in Morocco after the University of al-Qarawiyyin in Fez.
History
The uni ...
and earned a PhD in politics and international relations from the
University of Westminster
, mottoeng = The Lord is our Strength
, type = Public
, established = 1838: Royal Polytechnic Institution 1891: Polytechnic-Regent Street 1970: Polytechnic of Central London 1992: University of Westminster
, endowment = £5.1 million ...
in 2003.
Career
From 1987 to 1990, Bouchlaka was a member of the executive office of the
Union Générale des Etudiants de Tunisie
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
(UGET).
In London, he founded the
Maghreb Center for Research and Translation, and chaired the
London Platform for Dialogue.
He was also a visiting scholar at the
Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies
The Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies (OCIS) was founded in 1985. It is a centre for the advanced study of Islam and Muslim societies located in Oxford, England, and a registered educational charity. Its Patron is The Prince of Wales. In 2012 it ...
.
He worked as senior researcher and head of the Research and Studies Office at the Al Jazeera Center for Studies.
He is a member of the
Centre Union Process.
He has published two books and many articles in ''
Asharq Al-Awsat
''Asharq Al-Awsat'' ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, Aš-Šarq al-ʾAwsaṭ, meaning "The Middle East") is an Arabic international newspaper headquartered in London. A pioneer of the "off-shore" model in the Arabic press, the paper is often noted f ...
''.
He is a member of the
Ennahda Movement
The Ennahda Movement ( ar, حركة النهضة, Ḥarakatu n-Nahḍah; french: link=no, Mouvement Ennahdha), also known as the Renaissance Party or simply known as Ennahda, is a self-defined Islamic democratic political party in Tunisia.
Fou ...
, and the party leader
Rached Ghannouchi
Rached Ghannouchi ( ar, راشد الغنوشي, Rāshid al-Ghannūshī; born 22 June 1941), also spelled Rachid al-Ghannouchi or Rached el-Ghannouchi, is a Tunisian politician, the co-founder of the Ennahdha Party and serving as its intellec ...
's son-in-law.
On 20 December 2011, after former President
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 ...
was deposed, he joined the
Jebali Cabinet
The first cabinet of Tunisian Head of Government Hamadi Jebali was presented on 20 December 2011. Jebali has been appointed by interim President Moncef Marzouki, who had been elected by the National Constituent Assembly, a body constituted to dr ...
as minister of foreign affairs from 2011 to 2013 serving the first democratic government of Tunisia.
Similar to Rached Ghannouchi, he was forced into exile during the Ben Ali regime where he became one of the leaders of the party's exiled bureau.
Abdessalem was only able to return to his homeland after 21 years following 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 ...
.
He is an Executive Bureau member of the Ennahdha Party, in charge of External Relations and a member of its Political Bureau, and has also been serving since 2007 in its Consultative Council, the higher decisional instance of the party.
He is the founder and Director of the
Centre for Strategic and Diplomatic Studies (CSDS) established in 2014.
Bibliography
*''In Religion: Secularism and Democracy (Book not referred)''
*''United States of America: Between Hard Power and Soft Power (Book not referred)''
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdessalem, Rafik
1968 births
Living people
Tunisian Muslims
Alumni of the University of Westminster
Mohammed V University alumni
Al Jazeera people
Government ministers of Tunisia
Ennahda politicians
Foreign ministers of Tunisia