Slim Riahi ( ar, سليم الرياحي; born 1972) is a

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

n businessman and politician. He was the founder and leader of the Free Patriotic Union (UPL).

Biography

Slim Riahi was born on 13 July 1972 in

Bizerte Bizerte or Bizerta ( ar, بنزرت, translit=Binzart , it, Biserta, french: link=no, Bizérte) the classical Hippo, is a city of Bizerte Governorate in Tunisia. It is the northernmost city in Africa, located 65 km (40mil) north of the ca ...

, Tunisia. In 1980, his family went into exile in

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Su ...

, as his father was an

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 an ...

opposed to President

Habib Bourguiba Habib Bourguiba (; ar, الحبيب بورقيبة, al-Ḥabīb Būrqībah; 3 August 19036 April 2000) was a Tunisian lawyer, nationalist leader and statesman who led the country from 1956 to 1957 as the prime minister of the Kingdom of ...

, as well as to his successor

Zine El Abidine Ben Ali Zine El Abidine Ben Ali ( ar, زين العابدين بن علي, translit=Zayn al-'Ābidīn bin 'Alī; 3 September 1936 – 19 September 2019), commonly known as Ben Ali ( ar, بن علي) or Ezzine ( ar, الزين), was a Tunisian politician ...

. Slim Riahi grew up in Libya. He studied management at the Al Fateh University in Tripoli. Then, he engaged in the

oil production Petroleum is a fossil fuel that can be drawn from beneath the earth's surface. Reservoirs of petroleum was formed through the mixture of plants, algae, and sediments in shallow seas under high pressure. Petroleum is mostly recovered from oil dr ...

energy In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of hea ...

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot ...

and

property development Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re- lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to othe ...

industries, which acquired him great wealth. Later, he moved to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, and holds dual British and Tunisian citizenship. Returning to Tunisia 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 ...

in January 2011, he founded a political party, the Free Patriotic Union (UPL), which promotes an

economically liberal Economic liberalism is a political and economic ideology that supports a market economy based on individualism and private property in the means of production. Adam Smith is considered one of the primary initial writers on economic liberalis ...

and modernist program and positions itself at the centre of the political spectrum. The party run into controversy for mingling political and business interests, extensive campaigning and unclear financial resources. In August 2011, Riahi announced that he was planning to enter into Tunisia's media business with acquiring a 20-percent stake of the newspaper publisher ''Dar Assabah''. He also established three TV stations, namely Ettounsiya Al-Oula, Ettounsiya Sport and Ettounsiya News. He advertised to become the president of

Club Africain Club Africain ( ar, النادي الإفريقي) is a Tunisian football club based in Tunis that competes in the Tunisian Championship. It fields several sports teams, including football, handball, basketball, swimming and volleyball. The foo ...

on 6 June 2012 and his love for Club Africain made him the president of the club. He was officially confirmed as the new president of Club Africain on 16 June 2012. On 28 June 2017, his assets were frozen by the Tunis Court of First Instance on suspicion of money laundering. Riahi is in self-imposed exile in the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at ...

following the issuing of a five year jail sentence against him for issuing checks without balance, as well as corruption related to his leading the Tunisian sports club

., On 16 October 2017 the Tunisian court decided to drop the verdicts against businessman Salim Riahi in the case of checks without balance. Al Riahi attended accompanied by a statement stating that he had cleared the checks, after objecting to a 5-year prison sentence.https://www.tunimedia.tn/عاجل-البراءة-لسليم-الرياحي-في-قضية-الش/

References

External links

Presentation on the UPL's website
(in French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Riahi, Slim 1971 births Living people People from Sousse Governorate Free Patriotic Union politicians Nidaa Tounes politicians Tunisian businesspeople Tunisian expatriates in Libya Tunisian expatriates in the United Kingdom