At the initiative of the French General ResidentJean Mons,who sought to give him extra legitimacy,a decree dated July 12,1947,established the admission of Tunisian lawyers to the bar of Tunis and the bar council;Kaak was elected on July 18 as the head of the bar;this was a unique case of a Muslim being elected as head of the bar under the French protectorate of Tunisia.[2] However,under pressure from the Neo-Destour,he resigned in October of the same year.[2]
Appointed Prime Minister by Lamine Bey shortly after his election on July 19,he asked Salah Ben Youssef,the secretary-general of the Neo-Destour,to join his government,but he refused. [citation needed] Kaak is also credited with initiating the works of the Majallah,which foreshadowed the Personal Status Code and whose author was his minister of justice,Mohamed Abdelaziz Djaït.[3] As the first prime minister to reside permanently at the new headquarters of the Tunisian government,Dar El Bey,he left his position on August 16,1950.
He is often considered one of the Tunisian figures,including Slaheddine Baccouche,Abdelkader Belkhodja,and Hédi Raïs,who opposed the policies of the Tunisian National Movement dominated by Neo-Destour and Habib Bourguiba and Ben Youssef. This party considered Kaak's policy too conciliatory towards the colonial power. Kaak aimed for appeasement,trying to avoid confrontation between activists and security forces,but without notable political advances or concessions from France.
He was the older brother of historian Othman Kaak.[4]
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