Independence

After the war, agitation for independence resumed, and Bourguiba was again imprisoned by the French. In 1955, however, he was released, and the next year Tunisia was granted independence. A republic was proclaimed in 1957, and Bourguiba became the first president.

In 1964 the government confiscated all French-owned farmland and distributed it to Tunisian peasants. In 1967 the government began organizing all farms into cooperatives, but it abandoned the attempt in 1969 following fierce resistance by the peasants. Also during the 1960's, Bourguiba outlawed all political parties but his own.

Bourguiba's rule became increasingly authoritarian during the 1970's, and in 1975 the National Assembly voted him president for life. In the late 1970's, the country was beset with labor conflict and frequent strikes. In 1978 a general strike was put down by the army.

Difficult economic conditions caused much unrest in the mid-1980's, when the country experienced strikes and, because of high food prices, riots. In 1987, after Bourguiba became senile and his rule erratic, he was deposed. Another member of Bourguiba's party named Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali replaced Bourguiba as president. Ben Ali won presidential elections in 1989, 1994, 1999, and 2004.