Riadh Bettaieb (born 1961) is 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 politician. He serves as the Minister of Investment and International Cooperation under Prime Minister

Hamadi Jebali Hamadi Jebali (, '; born 12 January 1949) is a Tunisian engineer, politician, and journalist who was Prime Minister of Tunisia from December 2011 to March 2013. He was the Secretary-General of the Ennahda Movement, a moderate Islamic party in Tun ...

.Ahmed Ellali
Riadh Bettaieb
, ''Tunisia Live'', 22 December 2011

Biography

Early life

Riadh Bettaieb was born on 3 January 1961 in

Ben Gardane Ben Gardane or Bengardane ( or , '; ) is a coastal town in south eastern Tunisia, close to the border with Libya. It is located at around . History During the Second World War Ben Gardane Airfield was used by the 57th Fighter Group, which flew P ...

. He graduated from the National School of Engineers.

Political activism and career

In 1979, he joined the

Ennahda Movement The Ennahda Movement (; ), also known as the Renaissance Party or simply known as Ennahda, is a self-defined Islamic democratic political party in Tunisia. Founded as the Movement of Islamic Tendency in 1981, Ennahda was inspired by the Egypti ...

. In 1991, he was forced into exile in Paris by the regime of

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 ...

. He was the Head of the Paris-based Tunisian Solidarity Association. After former President Ben Ali was deposed in 2011, he returned to Tunisia and joined the High Authority for the Achievement of the Revolution’s Objectives. He also serves as a Governor of the

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, shortened to EBRD ( French: ''Banque européenne pour la reconstruction et le développement'' or ''BERD''), is an international financial institution founded in 1991 in Paris. As a multilat ...

Minister

On 20 December 2011, he joined the

Jebali Cabinet The first cabinet of Tunisian Head of Government Hamadi Jebali was presented on 20 December 2011. Jebali has been appointed by interim President Moncef Marzouki, who had been elected by the National Constituent Assembly A constituent assemb ...

as Minister of Investment and International Cooperation. In May 2012, he said Tunisia and

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

would develop

halal ''Halal'' (; ) is an Arabic word that translates to in English. Although the term ''halal'' is often associated with Islamic dietary laws, particularly meat that is slaughtered according to Islamic guidelines, it also governs ethical practices ...

agriculture, medications and cosmetics together. He also suggested Tunisian companies would invest in

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

.Qatari official: "700 low-income homes to be built in Omar el-Mokhtar district
Tunisian News Agency, 15 May 2012

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bettaieb, Riadh Living people 1961 births Tunisian Muslims Investment ministers of Tunisia Ennahda politicians Tunisian exiles Tunisian expatriates in France People from Medenine Governorate People from Ben Guerdane