Latifa Lakhdar (born 1 February 1956) is a Tunisian historian and politician who was Minister of Culture from February 2015 until January 2016.
Lakhdar was born in Zarzis on 1 February 1956. She was a student of Mohamed Arkoun at the Sorbonne in Paris. [1]
Lakhdar was Professor of Contemporary History at University of Ez-Zitouna from 1991 to 1999 and from 2000 to 2015 at the University of Tunis. [2]
Lakhdar is an expert in Islamic thought [3] [4] and has published several books in Arabic and French, notably on the condition of women in Islamic societies. [1] [2] She is a women's rights activist and secularist. [5] She has argued that Islamic fundamentalism, including Islamic terrorism is part of Islamic orthodoxy, but that Islamic thought can be enlightened and liberal if it undergoes a "critical revolution". [1] She argues that "The jihadist idea that religion should rule politics is a model that never existed." [4]
Lakhdar is a founding member of the Association tunisienne des femmes démocrates. In 2011, she was elected vice-president of the Higher Authority for Realisation of the Objectives of the Revolution, Political Reform and Democratic Transition. [2] [6]
On 6 February 2015, Lakhdar was appointed Minister of Culture and Heritage Preservation, as an independent, in the government of Prime Minister Habib Essid. [7] She was in communication with museum staff during the Bardo National Museum attack on 18 March 2015 and later unveiled a memorial at the site. [4]
On 12 February 2016, Lakhdar was made a Commander of the Order of the Republic by President Béji Caïd Essebsi for her service. [7]
Tunis Governorate is the smallest and most populated of the twenty-four governorates (provinces) of Tunisia. It covers an urban and suburban area on the Gulf of Tunis on the north-east coast covering 346 square kilometres (134 sq mi) and has a population of 1,056,247 with some agriculture and amenity land including parts of national parks. Its capital is that of the country, Tunis.
The Bardo National Museum is a museum of Tunis, Tunisia, located in the suburbs of Le Bardo.
Prostitution in Tunisia is regulated and confined to two small areas, one in Sfax and the other, Sidi Abdallah Guech in Tunis. Outside these two areas prostitution is illegal.
Yadh Ben Achour is a Tunisian lawyer, expert on public law and Islamic political theory. President of the Higher Political Reform Commission of Tunisia, he is then member of the United Nations Human Rights Committee.
The mass media in Tunisia is an economic sector. Under the authoritarian regimes of Habib Bourguiba, and then Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, it saw periods of liberalization and then challenges, notably due to Tunisian censorship. The 2010-2011 Tunisian protests and the subsequent change in government may bring significant change in this domain.
Mohamed Talbi, was a Tunisian author, professor, and Islamologist.
On 18 March 2015, two militants attacked the Bardo National Museum in the Tunisian capital city of Tunis, and took hostages. Twenty-one people, mostly European tourists, were killed at the scene, and an additional victim died ten days later. Around fifty others were injured. The two gunmen, Tunisian citizens Yassine Labidi and Saber Khachnaoui, were killed by police. Police treated the event as a terrorist attack.
Zohra ben Lakhdar Akrout is a Tunisian spectroscopist specializing in developing new spectroscopic methods to study the influence of pollutants on the quality of air, water, and plants. She earned in 2005 the L’Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science.
Sayida Ounissi is a Tunisian politician representing the party of Ennahdha. She currently serves as Secretary of State for Vocational Training.
Latifa Habachi is a Tunisian lawyer and politician who is a member of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People.
Alaa Talbi is a Tunisian Civil Society and human Rights activist. He was born in Kasserine, on April 4, 1978.
Faouzia Farida Charfi is a Tunisian scientist, intellectual and politician. She was Minister of State for Education in 2011.
Emna Mizouni is a Tunisian internet and human rights activist, free-lance journalist, communications expert and business executive. In July 2019, After successfully helping to prepare RightsCon Tunis, Access Now, the international non-profit human rights group intent on an open Internet, announced her appointment to serve in their global board of directors. In March 2013, Mizouni founded Carthagina, an initiative designed to create interest in Tunisia's cultural heritage at home and abroad. In August 2019, she was honoured as Wikimedian of the Year at Wikimania, as a result of the leading role she has played in the development of Arab and African communities as well as her success in promoting the history and culture of Tunisia.
Alya or Alia Baffoun is a Tunisian feminist and sociologist.
Alexandre Lézine was a French architect, historian and archaeologist of Russian origin.
Moncef Ouannes was a Tunisian sociologist.
Mohamed El Aziz Ben Achour is a Tunisian politician and historian born on 5 January 1951; he specializes in urban, social and cultural history of modern Tunisia and the Islamic civilization. He was the Minister of Culture some time between 2004 and 2008, and later Director-General of the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) some time between 2009 and 2013.
Mohamedia Palace was a palace of the Tunisian Beys, in the town of Mohamedia, Tunisia. It was constructed as a retreat from the capital, Tunis, in the first half of the 19th century, but was already abandoned in the second half. Today, the palace is in ruins.
The Hammam-Lif Palace was a winter residence of the Tunisian Beys, in Hammam-Lif, Tunisia. It was a favourite residence of the Husainid dynasty, but it is now in an advanced state of dilapidation.
The Ksar Saïd palace is a former palace of the Tunisian Beys in Le Bardo, a suburb of Tunis, Tunisia. It is close the other major residence of the Husainid dynasty, the Bardo palace. Since 2019, the palace is officially named Ksar Saïd, Palace of Letters and Arts, and is open to the public.