Mohamed Ali El Hammi (Arabic: محمد علي الحامي; 15 October 1890 – May 10, 1928) was an early twentieth-century Tunisian labor organizer during the era of the French protectorate over Tunisia. He is deemed as the father of Tunisian syndicalism.[1]

Mohamed Ali El Hammi
Born(1890-10-15)October 15, 1890
DiedMay 10, 1928(1928-05-10) (aged 37)
NationalityTunisian
OccupationPolitical activist
Statue of Mohamed El Hammi in El Hamma founded in 2001

Life and legacy edit

He was born in El Hamma, Gabès, Tunisia. He moved to Tunis at age 8 when his mother died.[citation needed] He began his professional life as a personal driver for the Hungarian consul in Tunis. He also worked as a porter before obtaining his driving license in 1908. He then left for Germany and studied economics and political science at the University of Berlin.[2]

He founded the Confédération générale des travailleurs tunisiens (General Confederation of Tunisian Workers) in 1924, a year after returning to the country.[3][4] He led strikes and formed regional unions across Tunisia.[5] He was a friend and contemporary of Tahar Haddad.[5]

He was arrested and exiled by the French in 1925.[6]

Death edit

On May 10, 1928, he died in a mysterious car crash in Saudi Arabia. His remains were repatriated to Tunisia on April 6, 1968.[7]

References edit

  1. ^ Daniel Jacobs; Peter Morris (2001). The Rough Guide to Tunisia. Rough Guides. p. 342. ISBN 1858287480. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
  2. ^ Emmanuel K. Akyeampong; Henry Louis Gates Jr. (2012). Dictionary of African Biography. Oxford University Press. p. 16. ISBN 978-0195382075. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
  3. ^ Zayani, Mohamed (2015). Networked Publics and Digital Contention: The Politics of Everyday Life in Tunisia. Oxford University Press. p. 54. ISBN 978-0190239770. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
  4. ^ Study on media development in Tunisia: Based on UNESCO's Media Development Indicators. UNESCO. p. 6. ISBN 9230011886. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
  5. ^ a b Masri, Safwan. Tunisia: An Arab Anomaly. New York: Columbia University Press, 2017, 171–172.
  6. ^ Perkins, Kenneth J.. Historical Dictionary of Tunisia. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2016, 78.
  7. ^ Hfaidh Tababi, Mohamed Ali El Hammi , ed. Higher Institute of the history of the national movement, Tunis, 2005, pp. 13-36