Hédi Mabrouk (7 April 1921 – 15 June 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 (3 August 19036 April 2000) was a Tunisian politician and statesman who served as the Head of Government of Tunisia, prime minister of the Kingdom of Tunisia from 1956 to 1957, and then as the first president of Tunisia from 1 ...

era and also, was also one of his allies.

Early years and education

Mabrouk was born in

Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

on 7 April 1921. His family were from

Monastir, Tunisia Monastir, also called Mestir ( ', 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 now a major tourist ...

. He was a graduate of the

University of Algiers The University of Algiers 1 (), commonly called Benyoucef Benkhedda, is a public research university based in Algiers, Algeria. Founded in 1909 from the amalgamation of different French colonial educational institutions, it has become the oldes ...

, Algeria.

Career

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

Sbeitla Sbeitla ( ') is a small town in west-central Tunisia. Nearby are the Roman Empire, Roman Archaeological site of Sbeitla, ruins of Sufetula, containing the best preserved Roman forum temples in the country. It was the entry point of the Muslim conqu ...

from 1956 to 1958. Next he was appointed governor of

Gafsa Gafsa (; ; ') is the capital of Gafsa Governorate in Tunisia. With a population of 120,739, Gafsa is the ninth-largest Tunisian city and is 335 km from the country's capital, Tunis. Overview Gafsa is the capital of Gafsa Governorate, in ...

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

Kef KEF is a British company that produces high-end audio products, including HiFi speakers, subwoofers, architecture speakers, wireless speakers, and headphones. It was founded in Maidstone, Kent, in 1961 by a BBC engineer Raymond Cooke (1925– ...

. 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 IH or International) was an American manufacturer of agricultural and construction equipment, automobiles, commercial trucks, lawn and garden products, household equipment, and more. It wa ...

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

Beji Caid Essebsi Beji Caid Essebsi (or es-Sebsi; , ; 29 November 1926 – 25 July 2019) was a Tunisian politician who served as the fourth president of Tunisia from 31 December 2014 until his death on 25 July 2019. Previously, he served as minister of foreign af ...

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 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Rachid Sfar Rachid Sfar (; 11 September 1933 – 20 July 2023) was a Tunisian politician who served as prime minister under the presidency of Habib Bourguiba. Early life Sfar was born in Mahdia, the ancient Fatimite capital of Tunisia. He was the son of ...

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

Zine El Abidine Ben Ali Zine El Abidine Ben Ali (Tunisian Arabic: , ; 3 September 1936 – 19 September 2019), commonly known as Ben Ali or Ezzine, was a Tunisian politician who served as the second President of Tunisia from 1987 to 2011. In that year, during the Tun ...

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

Amman Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...

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

Alliances

Mabrouk was one of 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'' ().

References

External links

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