Mustafa Filali Books

Mustafa Filali (July 5, 1921 - January 20, 2019), a Tunisian politician, trade unionist and intellectual who was the first to assume the agricultural portfolio after independence. Al-Filali studied at the Sadiq School and then at the Sorbonne, where he obtained a professorship in Arabic literature. After returning to Tunisia, he worked as a professor of literature and philosophy in secondary schools. He was also active in the Tunisian General Labor Union. He contributed to the formulation of the economic and social program of the union, which was adopted at the new Constitutional Free Party Congress in November 1955 in Sfax. The Union was rewarded for standing by Bourguiba in his struggle against Saleh bin Youssef by including him in the government that was formed on April 15, 1956. Filali was appointed Minister of Agriculture, while 3 other portfolios were assigned to the unionists: Al Amine Chebbi (Minister of Education), Izz El Din El Abbasi (Minister of Public Works) and Mahmoud El Khiari. (Minister of Post, Telegraph and Telephone). Filali contributed from his position in Tunisia and took the decision to abolish the confinement system. On October 1, 1957, he was assigned the news portfolio to succeed Abdullah Farhat, and continued until December 30, 1958, to leave the government after that. Between October 1971 and October 1972, he held the position of Director of the Constitutional Socialist Party, then was replaced by Ferjani Belhaj Ammar. Filali was also elected as a member of the National Constituent Assembly in 1956 for the Kairouan-Gallas constituency. He was also elected to the National Assembly in 1959 and 1964. His name was proposed as Prime Minister during the National Dialogue in December 2013, but after initial acceptance of the position, he was eventually rejected due to age. At the international level, Filali worked as Director of the Maghreb Office of the International Labor Organization in Algeria, and is currently a member of the Board of Trustees of the Center for Arab Unity Studies in Beirut. His books include "Islam and the New International Economic Order" and "The Great Arab Maghreb: The Call of the Future". Mustapha Filali passed away on Sunday, January 20, 2019 at the Military Hospital in Tunis, after a struggle with illness, at the age of 97.