[ In 1993, Marzouki was a founding member of the National Committee for the Defense of Prisoners of Conscience, but he resigned after it was taken over by supporters of the government. He was arrested on several occasions on charges relating to the propagation of false news and working with banned Islamist groups. He subsequently founded the National Committee for Liberties. He became President]
In 2001, he founded the Congress for the Republic.
Following President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's departure from Tunisia and the Tunisian revolution, Marzouki announced his return to Tunisia and his intention to run for the presidency.
President of Tunisia
On 12 December 2011, the Constituent Assembly of Tunisia, a body elected to govern the country and draft a new constitution, elected Marzouki as interim president, with 155 votes for, 3 against, and 42 blank votes.
On 14 December, one day after his accession to office, he appointed Hamadi Jebali of the moderate Islamist Ennahda Movement as Prime Minister.
As President, Marzouki played a leading role in establishing Tunisia's Truth and Dignity Commission in 2014, as a key part of creating a national reconciliation.
In March 2014, President Marzouki lifted the state of emergency that had been in place since the outbreak of the 2011 revolution, and a top military chief said soldiers stationed in some of the country's most sensitive areas would return to their barracks. The decree from President Marzouki said the state of emergency ordered in January 2011 is lifted across the country immediately. The state of emergency was imposed by longtime President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and maintained after he was overthrown. It was repeatedly renewed.
In April 2014, he cut his pay by two-thirds, citing the state's need to be a model in dealing with the deteriorating financial situation.
Marzouki was defeated by Beji Caid Essebsi in the November–December 2014 presidential election, and Essebsi was sworn in as President on 31 December 2014, succeeding Marzouki.[ "Tunisian secular leader Essebsi sworn in as new president", Reuters, 31 December 2014.]
Post-presidency
On 25 June 2015, Marzouki participated in the Freedom Flotilla III to the Gaza Strip. On 29 June, during their approach to the territorial waters of Gaza, but while still in international waters, the flotilla was intercepted by the Israeli navy and taken to the port of Ashdod, where the participants were interviewed. Marzouki was greeted by a delegation of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, but he declined to talk with them. On 30 June, he was deported to Paris and returned to Tunis on 1 July, where he was greeted by hundreds of supporters.
On 29 December 2021, Marzouki vowed to return to Tunisia and "overthrow the incumbent regime".
In 2022 Marzouki was sentenced to 4 years in prison in absentia for “assaulting” the security of the state.
Personal life
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From a first marriage, Moncef Marzouki has two daughters: Myriam and Nadia.
In December 2011, during a private civil ceremony in Carthage Palace, he married Beatrix Rhein, a French physician.
He owns a house in Port El-Kantaoui, near Sousse.
Moncef Marzouki refuses to wear a Necktie, preferring the burnous in homage to Tunisian culture.
Decorations
Tunisian National Honours
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:
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Grand Collar of the Order of Independence (In his capacity as President of the Tunisian Republic)
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Grand Collar of the Order of the Republic (In his capacity as President of the Tunisian Republic)
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Grand Collar of the National Order of Merit of Tunisia (In his capacity as President of the Tunisian Republic)
Foreign Honors
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: Commander of the Legion of Honour (4 July 2013)
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: Special Class of the Order of Muhammad (31 May 2014)
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: Grand Cross of the Golden Lion of Alexandria (6 June 2014)
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: Grand Cross of the Order of the Niger (23 June 2014)
Distinctions and awards
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The Maghrebian Medicine Prize (1982)
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Foundation Scanno Literary Prize (1988)
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The Price of the Arab Congress of Medicine (1989)
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Human Rights Watch awards for Freedoms (2001)
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Gold Medal of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (2012)
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The Chatham House Prize for the year 2012 in London (with Rached Ghannouchi)
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Honorary Degree from University of Tsukuba in 2013
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Al Qods Prize for 2015 in Chicago
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Foundation Ducci Peace Award for 2016 in Rome
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One of the 100 Most Influential Arabs in the World in 2018
Main publications
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Arabes, si vous parliez, ed. Lieu commun, Paris, 1987
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Laisse mon pays se réveiller : vers une quatrième civilisation, ed. Éditions pour le Maghreb arabe, Tunis, 1988
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Le mal arabe, ed. L'Harmattan, Paris, 2004
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Dictateurs en sursis : une voie démocratique pour le monde arabe, ed. de l'Atelier, Paris, 2009
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L'invention d'une démocratie. Les leçons de l'expérience tunisienne, ed. La Découverte, Paris, 2013
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Tunisie, du triomphe au naufrage (with Pierre Piccinin da Prata & Thibaut Werpin), ed. L'Harmattan, Paris, 2013
External links
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