Mohamed Brahmi ( aeb, محمد براهمي; 15 May 1955 – 25 July 2013) was a Tunisian politician. Brahmi was the founder and former leader of the People's Movement, which, under his leadership, won two seats in the constituent election in 2011.

Early life and career

Brahmi was born on 15 May 1955 in

Sidi Bouzid Sidi Bouzid ( ar, سيدي بوزيد '), sometimes called ''Sidi Bou Zid'' or ''Sīdī Bū Zayd'', is a city in Tunisia and is the capital of Sidi Bouzid Governorate in the centre of the country. Following the suicide of Mohamed Bouazizi in ...

, capital of the

Sidi Bouzid Governorate Sidi Bouzid Governorate ( aeb, ولاية سيدي بوزيد), sometimes spelt ''Sidi Bou Zid'', is one of the 24 governorates (provinces) of Tunisia. It is in central Tunisia and landlocked. It covers an area of 7405 km2 and has a populati ...

. He graduated from his Alma Mater, the Higher Institute of Management at

Tunis University Tunis University ( ar, جامعة تونس, french: link=no, Université de Tunis) is a university in Tunis, Tunisia. It was founded in 1960 on the basis of earlier educational establishments. The University of Tunis is a member of the Mediterr ...

with a Master's Degree in accounting in 1982. After his graduation, he taught as a professor of economics and management for two years at the

Technical College An institute of technology (also referred to as: technological university, technical university, university of technology, technological educational institute, technical college, polytechnic university or just polytechnic) is an institution of te ...

of Menzel Bourguiba. Later, he worked in the Office of Irrigation, and then in real estate from 1985 to 1993. He did consultancy work as an auditor for the Technical Cooperation Agency in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Ara ...

. From 2004, he worked as the manager of a real estate business specializing in residential properties.

Politics

Brahmi was an active member of the Arab Progressive Unionist Students until 2005, at which point he left and founded the Nasserist Unionist Movement, an illegal party under the Ben Ali government. After 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 founded the People's Movement and became the general secretary of the group. The party later joined the

Popular Front A popular front is "any coalition of working-class and middle-class parties", including liberal and social democratic ones, "united for the defense of democratic forms" against "a presumed Fascist assault". More generally, it is "a coalition ...

on 13 April 2013. However, Brahmi and other members of the movement left the front on 7 July due to criticisms of the movements' central and regional leaders over cooperation with the front. Brahmi was known for his socialist and

Arab nationalist Arab nationalism ( ar, القومية العربية, al-Qawmīya al-ʿArabīya) is a nationalist ideology that asserts the Arabs are a nation and promotes the unity of Arab people, celebrating the glories of Arab civilization, the language and ...

beliefs, particularly in the

tradition A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

Gamal Abdel Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein, . (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian politician who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 and introduced far-r ...

.Daragahi, Borzou
Salafist identified as suspect in Tunisia assassination
''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

''. 26 July 2013. He was a practicing

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

. Although a member of the anti-Islamist Popular Front, he did not have a reputation for being especially critical of Islamists, and in fact had many friends in the ruling Islamist

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. Foun ...

Assassination

On 25 July 2013, Brahmi was fatally shot in Tunis outside his

Ariana Ariana was a general geographical term used by some Greek and Roman authors of the ancient period for a district of wide extent between Central Asia and the Indus River, comprising the eastern provinces of the Achaemenid Empire that covered the ...

home in front of his wife and children by two men on a motorcycle. He received 11 bullets and died later that day in a hospital in Ariana district of Tunis. Brahmi's death followed the assassination of opposition leader

Chokri Belaid Chokri Belaïd ( ar, شكري بلعيد, Shukrī Bil‘īd; 26 November 1964 – 6 February 2013), also transliterated as Shokri Belaïd, was a Tunisian politician and lawyer who was an opposition leader with the left-secular Democratic P ...

, killed on 6 February 2013. The two were members of the same left-wing coalition. Interior Minister

Lotfi Ben Jeddou Lotfi Ben Jeddou (born 31 July 1964 in Sbeitla The suspect in both murders was identified as Abu Muqatil al-Tunisi, a

Salafist The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a reform branch movement within Sunni Islam that originated during the nineteenth century. The name refers to advocacy of a return to the traditions of the "pious predecessors" (), the first three generati ...

being sought on suspicion of smuggling weapons from Libya. A state funeral was held for Brahmi and tens of thousands of people attended the procession to the

Jellaz Cemetery Jellaz Cemetery ( ''Maqbara al-Jalāz''; also known as al-Jallaz and Cemetery Djalez) is a large hillside Muslim cemetery in Tunis, Tunisia, established in the thirteenth century. Located next to the bus station, the cemetery is the largest in th ...

in Tunis. During Brahmi's funeral, protesters called for the government to be toppled, while police fired tear gas on them.

Protest

Following his death, hundreds of his supporters, including relatives and party members of the People's Movement, demonstrated in front of the Interior Ministry's building on

Avenue Habib Bourguiba Avenue Habib Bourguiba ( aeb, شارع حبيب بورڨيبة) is the central thoroughfare of Tunis, and the historical political and economic heart of Tunisia. It is named for Habib Bourguiba, the first President of Tunisia and the national leade ...

and blamed the incumbent Ennahda Party and their followers for the assassination. Hundreds of supporters also protested in Brahmi's hometown of Sidi Bouzid. After the protests, Education Minister Salem Labiadh submitted his resignation. The opposition minority in the national assembly called for the government to resign and dissolve the legislature, but Prime Minister

Ali Larayedh Ali Laarayedh ( aeb, علي العريّض, '; born 15 August 1955) is a Tunisian politician who was Prime Minister of Tunisia from 2013 to 2014. Previously he served in the government as the Minister of the Interior from 2011 to 2013. Followin ...

said that the government would continue its work and set 17 December as the date for the scheduled general election (later postponed for the end of 2014). In January 2014, however, Ennahda replaced Larayedh with a technocrat.

Legacy

On 19 September 2013, Tunisia's interior minister told lawmakers the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

informed authorities Brahmi was a target and said there had been a "failure" in the security services' response. He announced an investigation had been opened. In the 2014 election, his wife Mbarka Aouinia Brahmi, heading the

's list in the Sidi Bouzid constituency, was elected a member of the

Assembly of the Representatives of the People The Assembly of the People's Representatives ( ar, مجلس نواب الشعب ', french: Assemblée des représentants du peuple; ARP) is Tunisia's legislative branch of government. The unicameral Assembly replaced the Constituent Assembly and ...

. On 4 December 2014, she was nominated for the post of the First deputy Speaker of the Assembly by the Popular Front, but was defeated with 33 votes against 157 votes for her contender

Abdelfattah Mourou Abdelfattah Mourou (Arabic: عبد الفتاح مورو) is a Tunisian politician and lawyer. He is a co-founder of the Ennahdha Party and serves as its Vice-President. He has been First Deputy Speaker of the Assembly of the Representatives of ...

Ennahda 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 ...

. Apart from the Popular Front (15 seats), only

Afek Tounes Afek Tounes ( ar, آفاق تونس, "Tunisian Aspiration(s)" or "Horizons of Tunisia") is a centre-right political party in Tunisia. Its program is liberal, focusing on secularism and civil liberties. The party mainly appealed to intellectuals an ...

(8 seats) had declared their support for her. She later criticized the pact of Nidaa Tounes with Ennahda, "the two parties of the political right, the one liberal and the other religious," as she put it.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brahmi, Mohamed 1955 births 2013 deaths African democratic socialists Assassinated Tunisian politicians Deaths by firearm in Tunisia Nasserists People from Sidi Bouzid People murdered in Tunisia Popular Front (Tunisia) politicians Tunisian Arab nationalists Tunisian secularists Tunisian socialists Tunis University alumni 2013 murders in Tunisia