🇹🇳TunisiaNorth Africa
Former Tunisian Interior Minister Driss Guiga dies at 102
via Business News1 min read
Driss Guiga, former minister and senior state official, passed away on Sunday, April 19, 2026, at the age of 102. His son, Moncef Guiga, announced his death on his personal page. Guiga was a prominent figure who held several key positions during the era of Habib Bourguiba. Born in Testour in 1924, Driss Guiga was involved in the national movement early on before studying law and history in Algiers and Paris. After Tunisia gained independence, he embarked on a long career in government, serving as Director of National Security, High Commissioner for Tourism, Minister of Health, Minister of Education, Ambassador to West Germany, and then Minister of Interior from 1980 to 1984. His tenure as Minister of Interior was notably linked to a sensitive period in contemporary Tunisian history, particularly the 1983-1984 bread riots, an event that marked a turning point in his political career. Following these events, he left the country, returning after November 7, 1987. In recent years, Driss Guiga gained attention again with the publication of his memoirs, "On the Path of Bourguiba," coinciding with his centenary celebration in 2024. His passing signifies the loss of a direct witness to several major phases in the construction of the post-independence Tunisian state.
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