Hassine Bouhageb (

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

: حسين بوحاجب) (20 October 1872 – 13 March 1946). He was a Tunisian doctor, educator and a sponsor for the Tunisian sport.

Early life and education

Hassine's father, Salem Bouhageb, was a big reformer in Europe and especially in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Libourne Libourne (; ) is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. It is the wine-making capital of northern Gironde and lies near Saint-Émilion and Pomerol. Geog ...

and

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

. He sent his son to France to study at the

Lycée Lakanal Lycée Lakanal is a public secondary school in Sceaux, Hauts-de-Seine, France, in the Paris metropolitan area. It was named after Joseph Lakanal, a French politician, and an original member of the Institut de France. The school also offers a mi ...

high school in Sceaux. After graduation, Bouhageb enrolled in the medical school of

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

where he received his medical doctorate 23 December 1901.

Career

Upon his return to Tunisia, he started the Tunisia renewal and modernization movement with

Ali Bach Hamba Ali Bach Hamba (1876 - 29 October 1918) was a Tunisian lawyer, journalist and politician. He co-founded the Young Tunisians with Béchir Sfar in 1907. Biography Bach Hamba was born in 1876 in Tunis into a family of Turkish origin, his brother, ...

, Bechir Sfar and

Abdeljelil Zaouche Abdeljelil Zaouche (; 15 December 1873 – 3 January 1947) was a Tunisian politician, reformer, and campaigner in the Tunisian independence movement. Youth Zaouche was born into a wealthy bourgeois family which had arrived in Tunis from Anda ...

. He represented a good sample of new generation who, after finishing their studies abroad, wanted to improve their nation's conditions by continuing the reformist movement that the general

Hayreddin Pasha Hayreddin Pasha (; 1820 – 30 January 1890) was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman-Tunisian statesman and reformer, who was born to an Abkhazians, Abkhazian family. First serving as Prime Minister of Tunisia, Prime Minister of the Beylik of Tunis, he ...

, Mohamed Bayram V and his father started earlier. In 1902, Bouhageb was appointed to direct the Tekia, which offered assistance to the mentally ill. In 1924, he was succeeded by a psychiatrist, Georges Perrussel, who described the Tekia at the time as "barbaric galleys" (''chiourme barbare''). On 31 December 1904, Bouhageb became head of service in the Sadiki Hospital. Later, he was transferred to the Ernest-Conseil Hospital. In 1911, he was elected as the headmaster of the Tunisian Muslim Association and the municipal society of Nasria. He led the Ech-Chahama Al Arabya theater troupe between 1915 and 1930. He made a remarkable contribution during the fight to counter the epidemics that persisted even thirty years after the establishment of the

French protectorate of Tunisia The French protectorate of Tunisia (; '), officially the Regency of Tunis () and commonly referred to as simply French Tunisia, was established in 1881, during the French colonial empire era, and lasted until Tunisian independence in 1956. T ...

. Bouhageb published many works about child nutrition and on how to improve nutrition in Tunisia. He was also the initiator of the development of sport activities in Tunisia.

Personal life

He was Khelil Bouhageb's brother, who became

grand vizier Grand vizier (; ; ) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. It was first held by officials in the later Abbasid Caliphate. It was then held in the Ottoman Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Soko ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hassine Bouhageb, Hassine Place of birth missing Place of death missing 1872 births 1946 deaths 19th-century male writers 19th-century non-fiction writers 19th-century physicians 19th-century Tunisian writers 20th-century male writers 20th-century non-fiction writers 20th-century Tunisian physicians 20th-century Tunisian writers Health and wellness writers Lycée Lakanal alumni Male non-fiction writers Tunisian expatriates in France Tunisian male writers Tunisian non-fiction writers Writers from Tunis