Ahmed Ben Salah facts for kids
Ahmed Ben Salah (Arabic: أحمد بن صالح) (born January 13, 1926 – died September 16, 2020) was an important Tunisian politician and a leader for workers' rights. He was very powerful between 1957 and 1969. During this time, he held several important government jobs. He used these roles to put his ideas for a planned economy into action.
Contents
Life Story
Early Days and Education
Ahmed Ben Salah was born in Moknine. This is a town in the coastal Sahel area of Tunisia. This region was known for its strong desire for independence. He went to high school at the famous Sadiki College in Tunis. Later, he finished his studies in France in the 1940s.
After school, he joined the fight for Tunisia's freedom. He became the head of the youth group for the Destour party. In 1947, while still in France, he helped connect the Neo Destour nationalist movement in Tunisia with their leader, Habib Bourguiba, who was in Cairo. He also connected them with Moncef Bey, the former king. Ben Salah came back to Tunisia in 1948. He then started working with trade unions. He joined the General Labour Union (UGTT) in 1948. Trade unions are groups that work to protect the rights and interests of workers.
In the late 1940s, the UGTT was part of a global union group. But in 1951, the UGTT joined a new group called the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU). This new group was more connected to Western countries. For Ben Salah and the UGTT, joining the ICFTU meant they could share Tunisia's goals for independence with more people around the world.
Leading the UGTT Union
Ahmed Ben Salah's international work with the ICFTU made him well-known in Tunisia. He became the general secretary of the UGTT union. This happened shortly after Farhat Hached, another union leader, was sadly killed in December 1952. About a year and a half later, in July 1954, the French president said Tunisia could govern itself.
In 1956, Ben Salah openly criticized Tunisia's new political leaders. These leaders were mostly from the Neo Destour movement. He felt they were only helping the rich people. Habib Bourguiba, who became president of the assembly in April, wanted everyone to stay united. He said that calls for equality should not lead to poor people trying to make the rich poor.
Ben Salah was a very strong leader. The Neo Destour leaders worried that his control over the UGTT might lead to a new socialist party. This party would be outside their main political group. Because of this worry, there was a lot of pressure within the UGTT to remove Ben Salah. Things came to a head at the UGTT meeting in September 1956. People working with Bourguiba managed to get into the union's leadership. With support from some regional unions, they broke away from the UGTT. They formed a new union called the Tunisian Labour Union. The Neo-Destour leaders also put pressure on other UGTT unions. This led to Ben Salah having to resign as the union's General Secretary in December 1956. Ahmed Tlili took his place.
Key Government Roles
After leaving his union job, Ben Salah was appointed as the Minister of Public Health on July 29, 1957. He also became the Minister of Social Affairs in May 1958. He held both these jobs until January 1961.
By 1960, foreign money was leaving Tunisia, and people were losing their excitement for Habib Bourguiba's government. President Bourguiba then said he supported a planned economy and socialism. This meant the government would guide the economy to help everyone. After some changes in government jobs, Ahmed Ben Salah became the Minister for Planning and Minister of Finance in January 1961. He kept both these important jobs until September 1969.
Now part of the Neo Destour government, Ben Salah went back to his old economic ideas. He created a "ten-year plan" (1962–1971). This plan aimed to "decolonize the national economy." This meant making Tunisia's economy more independent and bringing foreign-owned businesses under Tunisian control.
To help Tunisia become self-sufficient, his plan limited foreign investment. Ben Salah's power grew, and he also became the Minister of Education in 1967. He also gained control of the important agriculture sector. In farming, he made some of his biggest changes. For example, in 1962, he created production co-operatives. These were groups of farmers who worked together.
However, these quick changes in farming and using many machines caused problems for farmers outside the system. Even within the co-operatives, people were unhappy. There was too much paperwork and slow processes, which made things inefficient. Sometimes, workers were even paid late. People's unhappiness began to spread beyond just the farming sector as the ten-year plan continued.
By 1968, the entire business sector was affected. In January 1969, protests and violence broke out in the streets. In Ouerdanin, several protesters died in clashes with the police. Business owners and farmers who were unhappy joined forces against Ben Salah. He also lost the support of the poorer farmers.
His Downfall
The system based on co-operatives had failed. Ahmed Ben Salah's fall from power happened quickly. On August 3, 1969, he was removed from his jobs. The next month, he was formally stripped of his ministerial roles. On September 22, 1969, the president announced that the "socialist experiment" was over. Ben Salah was also removed from the Socialist Destourian Party and lost his seat in the national parliament. He was accused of misusing the president's trust and taking advantage of the president's poor health in recent years. (President Bourguiba stayed in office for almost twenty more years, until 1987, and passed away in 2000). On May 25, 1970, he was brought before a special court. He faced serious charges, including "high treason" and "financial problems." He was sentenced to prison.
Years in Exile
Ben Salah managed to escape from prison in Tunis on February 4, 1973. He fled to Algeria, where he was given a safe place to stay. Even though he was in exile, he remained active in politics. He started a political group called the "Popular Unity Movement." In May 1988, a year after a new president came to power in Tunisia, Ben Salah received a pardon. He returned to Tunisia after fifteen years away. On August 21, 1989, he tried to officially register his "Popular Unity Party," but his request was ignored. In September 1990, he had to go back into exile. He finally returned home for good in September 2000.
On February 12, 2011, after another big change in government, he submitted a new request to register the "Popular Unity Party." On March 8, 2011, his party was finally allowed to be active in politics. Ben Salah became the party's president on May 13, 2012.
Awards and Honours
Tunisian National Honours
:- Grand Cordon of the Order of Independence (1965)
Foreign Honours
Algeria : Medal of Honor of the Republic of Algeria (January 3, 2013)
See also
In Spanish: Ahmed Ben Salah para niños
