Habib Bourguiba of Tunisia

President Habib Bourguiba of Tunisia was an Arab leader much admired in the West for his moderation and pragmatism. He was regarded as a center of stability in a volatile Middle East. The man himself was a fascinating mixture of a traditional Arab Muslim background and a deep immersion into French culture. He spent the first part of his life struggling against the French colonizer, then after independence became head of a small North African state. The first years of his. Rule were a period of progress and development for Tunisia, when he made his name and that of his country respected throughout the world. But he stayed too long, and by the end was lost in senility, absolutism and incompetence. His is, nevertheless, a fascinating life and the present biography is a sympathetic study of the man, his achievements and failures.