Background
Tahar Belkhoja was born on June 3, 1931, at Mahdia, 100 miles south-east of Tunis.
Tahar Belkhoja was born on June 3, 1931, at Mahdia, 100 miles south-east of Tunis.
Educated at Sadiki College in Tunis, he was then sent to France to round off his education at Aix-en-Provence and Toulouse. Returning home, he graduated as an agricultural engineer at L’Ecole Superieure d’Agriculture in Tunis in 1956.
In January 1960 he rose to be Chef de Cabinet at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a year later he was promoted minister plenipotentiary and sent to the Tunisian Embassy at Paris as charge d’affaires. From December 1961 until September 1966 he was Ambassador to West Africa, residing at Dakar and accredited to Senegal, Ivory Coast, Mali, Guinea and Mauritania. He returned to Tunis as Chef de Cabinet to the Secretary of State for Planning and the National Economy. In June 1967 he was made Director-General of National Security.
His fortunes slumped in December 1968 when he was dismissed for “abuse of authority" and dropped from the party's central committee. In May 1969, however, he had worked his way back into President Bourguiba's favour. His first step towards rehabilitation was his appointment as Ambassador to Senegal in July 1969. His next move was on March 9, 1970, as Ambassador to Spain. Then came the big leap: into the cabinet in November 1970 as Minister of Youth and Sport.
In December 1971 he was appointed Permanent Representative to the UN at Geneva and also Ambassador to the Vatican. The escape of Ben Salah on February 4, 1973, resulted in the dismissal of Khefacha as Minister of the Interior. Premier Nouira realised that a vigorous stamp of authority was necessary and brought back Belkhoja with all the expertise of a former Director-General of Security.
As a young party activist from the age of 16 he worked his way up to become secretary-general of the General Union of Tunisian Students (UGET) from 1957 to 1959. During that period Be was president of the International Association of Agricultural Students. He was also elected Neo-Destour delegate for students at politburo meetings.
His marriage to a niece of President Bourguiba undoubtedly smoothed the path of his ambitions but the real reason for his advance to high office is that he is a man of exceptional ability who has proved his worth in cabinet and in international circles. His experience in handling security problems recom-mended him for the Ministry of the Interior when a firm hand was required following the dismissal of Hedi Khefacha over the escape of Ahmed Ben Salah, former Secretary of State, jailed for treason.