Rached Ghannouchi

Rached Ghannouchi (راشد الغنوشي; born 22 June 1941 ), also spelled Rachid al-Ghannouchi or Rached el-Ghannouchi, is a Tunisian politician, the co-founder of the Ennahdha Party and serving as its intellectual leader.

He was born Rashad Khriji (راشد الخريجي).

He received his certificate of attainment degree, equivalent to the Baccalauréat, in 1962 from the University of Ez-Zitouna (Zaytouna).

He entered the school of agriculture at Cairo University in 1964 but, following the expulsion of Tunisians from Egypt, he left for Syria.

He studied philosophy at the University of Damascus, graduating in 1968.

Ghannouchi also spent some time in his 20s traveling and working in Europe as a grape picker and dish washer.

In April 1981 Ghannouchi founded the Islamic Tendency Movement (حركة الاتجاه الإسلامي ).

The Movement described itself as specifically rooted in non-violent Islamism, and called for a "reconstruction of economic life on a more equitable basis, the end of single-party politics and the acceptance of political pluralism and democracy."

By the end of July, Ghannouchi and his followers were arrested, sentenced to eleven years in prison in Bizerte, and were tortured.

Both the religious and secular community, including numerous secular political organizations, rallied in his support.

While in prison he translated a number of works and wrote on topics such as democracy, women's rights, and Palestine.

He also wrote his most noted work, Al‐Hurriyat al‐'Ammah (Public Liberties).

He was released in 1984, but returned to prison in 1987 with a life sentence, then was again released in 1988.

He moved to the United Kingdom as a political exile, where he lived for 22 years.

He attended The Islamic Committee for Palestine conference in Chicago in 1989.

Following the 1990 invasion of Kuwait, Al-Ghannushi denounced King Fahd of Saudi Arabia for the "colossal crime" of inviting the U.S. to deploy forces.

He also called for a Muslim boycott of American goods, planes and ships.

He has also been criticized for calling for jihad against Israel.

Ghannouchi continued to criticise Tunisian politics and the regime of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

Following popular unrest in which Ben Ali was ousted, Ghannouchi returned to Tunisia on 30 January 2011, after spending twenty two years exiled in London, with thousands of people welcoming him.

His party won 37.04% of the vote (more than the next four biggest vote-getting parties combined) in the 2011 Tunisian Constituent Assembly election.

Ghannouchi did not take a government position.

Ennahdha's secretary-general Hamadi Jebali became Prime Minister.

Ennahda formed a government which led Tunisia through the challenging and tumultuous aftermath of the Jasmine revolution.

The government during this period was characterized by greater transparency, lack of corruption, and consensus-building.

Ghannouchi was named one of Times 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2012 and Foreign Policys Top 100 Global Thinkers and was awarded the Chatham House Prize in 2012 (alongside Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki) by Prince Andrew, Duke of York, for "the successful compromises each achieved during Tunisia's democratic transition".

In March 2012, Ennahda declared it would not support making sharia the main source of legislation in the new constitution, maintaining the secular nature of the state.

Ennahda's stance on the issue was criticized by hardline Islamists, who wanted strict sharia, but was welcomed by secular parties.

The government was criticized for mediocre economic performance, not stimulating the tourism industry, and poor relations with Tunisia's biggest trading partner France.

In particular it was criticized for tolerating efforts at aggressive Islamisation by radical Islamists who were demanding Sharia law and denouncing gender inequality and restrictions on polygamy, some of whom were responsible for the September 2012 ransacking and burning of the American embassy and school following the assassination of two leftist politicians Chokri Belaid (in February 2013) and Mohamed Brahmi (in July 2013).

During this 2013–14 Tunisian political crisis enraged secularists demanded the government step down or even a Sisi-style coup, while Ennahda militants defiantly opposed early elections, even booing Ghannouchi's calls for sacrifice for national unity.

In 2016, he received the Jamnalal Bajaj Award for "promoting Gandhian values outside India".

On 13 November 2019, Ghannouchi was elected Speaker of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People.

Ghannouchi narrowly survived a vote of no confidence after 97 MPs voted against him on 30 July 2020, falling short of 109 needed to oust him as Speaker of the House.

Ghannouchi was born outside El Hamma, in the governorate of Gabès in southern Tunisia.

His village had no electricity or paved roads.

His father was a poor farmer with children including Rached.

His family worked in the fields every day, and had meat to eat only a few times a year.

After the ground season had ended, the family wove baskets from palm leaves to supplement its income.

Rached was able to attend a local branch of the traditional Arabic-language Zaytouna school thanks to financial help from an older brother.