Neo-Destour
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The New Constitutional Liberal Party (, ';
French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
: ''Nouveau Parti libéral constitutionnel''), most commonly known as Neo Destour, was a
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 ...
n
political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...
founded in 1934 in Dar Ayed, the house of independence activist Ahmed Ayed, by a group of
Tunisian nationalist Tunisian nationalism refers to the nationalism of Tunisians and Tunisian culture. Tunisian nationalism's origins stretch back to the 19th century; however, Tunisian nationalism became a significant political force after 1908 with the founding of t ...
politicians during the French protectorate. It originated from a split with the
Destour The Constitutional Liberal Party (, '), most commonly known as Destour, was a Tunisian political party, founded in 1920, which had as its goal to liberate Tunisia from French colonial control. History The term ''Destour'' is usually translate ...
party. Led by
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 ...
, Neo Destour became the ruling party upon Tunisian independence in 1956. In 1964, it was renamed the
Socialist Destourian Party The Socialist Destourian Party ( ' ; ; ) was the ruling political party of Tunisia from 1964 to 1988. Bahi Ladgham was the first Prime Minister from the party and Hédi Baccouche was the last. It was founded on 22 October 1964 and disbanded on ...
.


History

The party was formed as a result of a split from the pre-existing
Destour The Constitutional Liberal Party (, '), most commonly known as Destour, was a Tunisian political party, founded in 1920, which had as its goal to liberate Tunisia from French colonial control. History The term ''Destour'' is usually translate ...
party in 1934, during the Ksar Hellal Congress of March 2. Several leaders were particularly prominent during the party's early years before World War II:
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 ...
,
Mahmoud El Materi Mahmoud El Materi (December 1897 – December 13, 1972) was a Tunisian physician and politician. He was the first president and one of the founders of the Neo Destour. Biography Early life In his private journals, Mahmoud El Materi mentions t ...
, Tahar Sfar,
Bahri Guiga Bahri Guiga (March 4, 1904 - September 2, 1995) was a Tunisian lawyer and politician. Biography Originating in the Berber village of Takrouna, he studied in Lycée Carnot de Tunis along with Habib Bourguiba who was his best friend. He pursued ...
, and Salah ben Youssef. Prior to the split, a younger group of Destour members had alarmed the party elders by appealing directly to the populace through their more radical newspaper ''L'Action Tunisienne''. The younger group, many from the provinces, seemed more in tune with a wider spectrum of the country-wide Tunisian people, while the party elders represented a more established constituency in the capital city 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 ...
; yet both groups were proponents of change, either autonomy or independence. The rupture came at the Destour party congress of 1934.


World War II

At the outbreak of war in 1939, Neo-Destour leaders, though still untried, were deported to France. However, they were released by the Nazis in 1942 following the German occupation of
Vichy France Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the Battle of France, ...
.
Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
then handed them over to the
Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his overthrow in 194 ...
's fascist government in Rome. There the leaders were treated with deference, the fascists hoping to gain support for the Axis. Bourguiba steadily refused to cooperate. But Hussein Triki worked with the Nazis under Neo-Destour. After allies' advance, victory in ''El Alamein,'' he escaped to Europe, there he worked for ''The Mahgreb'', a North African Arabic organization working for the Nazis' war machine against the allies and has collaborated with Hitler's ally Mufti of Palestine. The Neo-Destour Party was one of the Arab factions that the Nazi Germans hoped to win over to the Axis side . As majority of its leaders imprisoned by the French, Eitel Friedrich Moellhausen, Rahn's deputy, argued that the Arabs could be incited to action “against Jews and Anglo-Saxons” through the release of the prisoners in
Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
, without the Germans having to provide specific assurances concerning independence.


Post WWII

Eventually the Neo Destour led the
Tunisian independence Tunisian independence was a process that occurred from 1952 to 1956 between France and an independence movement, led by Habib Bourguiba. He became the first Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Tunisia after negotiations with France successfully bro ...
movement after the tumultuous period during World War II. Then Bourguiba was imprisoned and after the war in Egypt, while Ben Salih was the local, hands-on party leader. A significant break within the party ranks occurred in the final year of the independence struggle. In April, 1955, Salah ben Yusuf openly challenged Habib Bourguiba over his gradualist tactics during his
autonomy In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy is the capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision. Autonomous organizations or institutions are independent or self-governing. Autonomy can also be ...
negotiations with the French. Also Ben Yusuf, who cultivated support at
al-Zaytuna Mosque Al-Zaytuna Mosque, also known as Ez-Zitouna Mosque, and El-Zituna Mosque (, literally meaning ''the Mosque of Olive''), is a major mosque at the center of the Medina of Tunis in Tunis, Tunisia. The mosque is the oldest in the city and covers an a ...
and took a
pan-Arab Pan-Arabism () is a pan-nationalist ideology that espouses the unification of all Arab people in a single nation-state, consisting of all Arab countries of West Asia and North Africa from the Atlantic Ocean to the Arabian Sea, which is ref ...
political line, disputed Bourguiba's more liberal, secular, pro-Western approach. The party's labor leader Ahmad Ben Salah kept the Tunisian General Labor Union in Bourguiba's camp. The Neo Destour party expelled Ben Yusuf that October; in November 1955 he mounted a large street demonstration but to no avail. Ben Yusuf then left for
Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian military officer and revolutionary who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 a ...
's Egypt where he was welcomed. Independence of Tunisia from France was negotiated largely by the Neo Destour's Bourguiba. The effective date was March 20, 1956. The next year the Republic of Tunisia was constituted, which replaced the Beylical form of government. The Neo Destour became the ruling party under Prime Minister and later President Habib Bourguiba. In 1963, the Neo Destour was proclaimed the only legally permitted party in Tunisia, though for all intents and purposes the country had been a one-party state since independence. Later, the Neo Destour party was renamed the
Socialist Destourian Party The Socialist Destourian Party ( ' ; ; ) was the ruling political party of Tunisia from 1964 to 1988. Bahi Ladgham was the first Prime Minister from the party and Hédi Baccouche was the last. It was founded on 22 October 1964 and disbanded on ...
(PSD in its French acronym) in 1964, to signal the government's commitment to a socialist phase of political-economic development. This phase failed to fulfill expectations, however, and was discontinued in 1969 with the dismissal of Ahmad ben Salah as economics minister by President Bourguiba. In 1988, under President
Ben Ali Ben Ali may refer to: People * Ben Ali (businessman) (1927–2009), founder of the restaurant Ben's Chili Bowl in Washington, DC, USA * Habib Ben Ali (1941–1996), Tunisian criminal * Ibrahim Ben Ali (1756–1800), soldier and physician who was ...
, the party was again renamed, to become the Rassemblement Constitutionel Démocratique (RCD). The RCD continued as the Tunisian ruling party under President Ben Ali, who became increasingly corrupt and dictatorial. Early in 2011, he was forced out of office and his regime and the ruling party abolished, as a result of the liberal Tunisian Revolution. Similar subsequent events of popular
regime change Regime change is the partly forcible or coercive replacement of one government regime with another. Regime change may replace all or part of the state's most critical leadership system, administrative apparatus, or bureaucracy. Regime change may ...
, which had spread to other Arab countries, became known as the
Arab Spring The Arab Spring () was a series of Nonviolent resistance, anti-government protests, Rebellion, uprisings, and Insurgency, armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began Tunisian revolution, in Tunisia ...
.Abadi, ''Tunisia since the Arab Conquest'' (Ithaca 2013) pp. 544-545.


Leaders

*
Mahmoud El Materi Mahmoud El Materi (December 1897 – December 13, 1972) was a Tunisian physician and politician. He was the first president and one of the founders of the Neo Destour. Biography Early life In his private journals, Mahmoud El Materi mentions t ...
(1934-1938) *
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 ...
(1938-1964)


Electoral history


Presidential elections


Chamber of Deputies elections


Notable people

* Hédi Saidi


See also

*
Destour The Constitutional Liberal Party (, '), most commonly known as Destour, was a Tunisian political party, founded in 1920, which had as its goal to liberate Tunisia from French colonial control. History The term ''Destour'' is usually translate ...
*
Socialist Destourian Party The Socialist Destourian Party ( ' ; ; ) was the ruling political party of Tunisia from 1964 to 1988. Bahi Ladgham was the first Prime Minister from the party and Hédi Baccouche was the last. It was founded on 22 October 1964 and disbanded on ...
(PSD) *
Democratic Constitutional Rally The Democratic Constitutional Rally or Democratic Constitutional Assembly ( ', , sometimes also called Constitutional Democratic Rally in English), also referred to by its French initials RCD, was a political party in Tunisia. Including its pred ...
(RCD)


Reference notes

{{Authority control 1934 establishments in Tunisia 1964 disestablishments in Tunisia Political parties established in 1934 Political parties disestablished in 1964 Destourian parties Defunct political parties in Tunisia Parties of one-party systems