Ichraf Saïed (, (); born 1973) is a Tunisian

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

, wife of current President Kaïs Saïed, and, therefore, the First Lady of Tunisia since 23 October 2019, following the

election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...

of her husband to the presidency of the republic. She is the ninth first lady of

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

and the fifth first lady of the post- Tunisian Revolution era.

Biography

Ichraf was born in

Sfax Sfax ( ; , ) is a major port city in Tunisia, located southeast of Tunis. The city, founded in AD849 on the ruins of Taparura, is the capital of the Sfax Governorate (about 955,421 inhabitants in 2014), and a Mediterranean port. Sfax has a ...

, but her family is originally from Téboulba, a coastal town in the

Tunisian Sahel The Tunisian Sahel () or more precisely the Central East Tunisia is an area of central eastern Tunisia and one of the six Tunisian regions. It stretches along the eastern shore, from Bouficha in the north to Melloulèche in the south, it in ...

region of

Monastir Governorate Monastir Governorate ( ' ; ) is one of the twenty-four governorates of Tunisia. It is situated in center-east of Tunisia. It covers an area of 1,019 km2 (393 mi2) and has a population of 599,769 (2024 census). The capital is Monastir. ...

. Her father, Mohamed Chebil, was a judge in the . She is also a descendent of

Saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

Ali Chebil. She studied in

Sousse Sousse, Sūsah , or Soussa (, ), is a city in Tunisia, capital of the Sousse Governorate. Located south of the capital Tunis, the city has 271,428 inhabitants (2014). Sousse is in the central-east of the country, on the Gulf of Hammamet, which ...

, first at a in Sousse and then at the lycée Tahar-Sfar. After receiving her

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

, Saïed studied law at the Faculty of Law and Political Science at the

University of Sousse The University of Sousse (, ) is a public university in Sousse, Tunisia. History The University of Sousse was created in 2004 from a division of the University of the Center, which had been created in 1991 from the University of Monastir. The ...

. She holds a degree in criminal studies from the and subsequently became an advisor the Court of Appeals and the Court of First Instance of

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 ...

. She met her husband, Kaïs Saïed, while she was a law student in Sousse and taught him

constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in ...

. They have declared that their marriage was not a marriage arranged by their families. According to a

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

post by Kaïs Karoui, a close friend of Kaïs Saïed, "The whole outlook of Kais Saïed is

modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

and...neither his wife nor his daughter are

veil A veil is an article of clothing or hanging cloth that is intended to cover some part of the human head, head or face, or an object of some significance. Veiling has a long history in European, Asian, and African societies. The practice has be ...

ed, not to mention that his wife is a magistrate." The couple have three children – Amrou, Sarah and Mouna. Saïed's first appearance as First Lady took place on the day of her husband's inauguration as President of the Republic, at the reception at

Carthage Palace Carthage Palace () is the presidential palace of Tunisia, and the official residence and seat of the President of Tunisia. It is located along the Mediterranean Sea at the current city of Carthage, near the archaeological site of the ancient c ...

. A few days later, Ichraf Saïed announced she was retiring, out of respect for the independence of the judiciary, from her position as a magistrate, without a monthly salary, for a period of five years, the duration of her husband's term of office. She appears publicly on official occasions, such as on 13 August 2020 during National Women's Day celebrations, and on 3 June 2021 with the royal couple of

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

. However, she rarely appears in the

media Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is inter ...

, in contrast with the wives of other former Tunisian presidents. In September 2021, the president of the Superior Council of the Judiciary, Youssef Bouzakher, remarked on Shems FM that Saïed continues to practice law, contrary to what was originally announced at the beginning of her husband's mandate. Saïed was promoted as a third-grade judge and assigned to the Court of Appeals of

, which she declined. A November 2021 statement from the Council of the Judicial Order noted that she would be appointed to the Center for Legal and Judicial Studies of Tunis.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saied, Ichraf Living people 1973 births Date of birth unknown First ladies of Tunisia Tunisian judges 20th-century Tunisian lawyers Tunisian women lawyers People from Sfax 20th-century women lawyers