Ali Larayedh, an Ennahda leader and its spokesman for the last two decades, was used to being at the bottom of society’s ranks, as Islamists were subject to severe oppression under ousted President Ben Ali and his predecessor Habib Bourguiba.  But all that changed when Ennahda rose to power.

Following the first free and honest elections on October 23, 2011, Larayedh was appointed minister of the most complex and ambiguous ministry, namely the Interior Ministry; the same ministry by which he had been tortured and abused during the 1990s under Ben Ali.

Ali Larayedh, an Ennahda leader and its spokesman for the last two decades, was used to being at the bottom of society’s ranks, as Islamists were subject to severe oppression under ousted President Ben Ali and his predecessor Habib Bourguiba.  But all that changed when Ennahda rose to power.

Following the first free and honest elections on October 23, 2011, Larayedh was appointed minister of the most complex and ambiguous ministry, namely the Interior Ministry; the same ministry by which he had been tortured and abused during the 1990s under Ben Ali.

Death sentence

Larayedh was born in 1955 in a small village in Medenine Governorate in southern Tunisia. As a student, he co-founded the “Movement of Islamic Tendency” (currently Ennahda Movement) and after graduating as an engineer from Marine Trading School in 1980, he worked for the Transportation Ministry until he was dismissed for his Islamist activity. He subsequently suffered many years of police harassment.

He was sentenced to death for leading Ennahda with Hamadi Jebali (the resigned prime minister) during the 1980s’ clashes with Bourguiba’s regime. However, when Ben Ali came to power by a bloodless coup in 1987, Larayedh was pardoned, but arrested again in 1990 under an extensive campaign targeting Ennahda.  Larayedh was eventually jailed for 16 years, 10 of those years in solitary confinement.

Coalition with the left wing..!

Larayedh was released in 2006 and significantly contributed to the establishment of “18 October Coalition for Rights and Freedoms” to oppose Ben Ali. Uniquely, the coalition included Islamic, communist and liberal oppositionists for the first time in modern Tunisia.

The coalition was a source of discomfort for Ben Ali in and outside Tunisia. It resulted in numerous consensual documents between secularists and Islamists on freedom of beliefs, women and synergy. Among the participants were Larayedh, as Ennahda’s spokesman, Hamma Hammami on behalf of Tunisian Communist Workers’ Party, Najib Chebbi from the Progressive Democratic Party (now the Republican Party), Mustapha Ben Jafar on behalf of Ettakatol Party and Mohamed Abbou from the Congress for the Republic Party.

Flexible negotiator

Following the release of Ennahda members, imprisoned under Ben Ali, Larayedh became in charge of Ennahda activities with other opposition parties as well as other leaders of Ennahda, such as Ziad Ddolatly and Abdulhamid Jlasi, especially since Hamadi Jebali was under house arrest in the coastal governorate of Sousse.  

Larayedh, as many politicians see, is respected by other politic parties for his flexibility and ability to negotiate and dialogue compared to most leaders of Ennahda.

As a result of the revolution of December 2010 that later ousted Ben Ali on  January 15, 2011, the Islamists were able to participate in the political arena and Larayedh was elected member of the Ennahda executive office by the Constituent Body formed in February 2011.

From oppressed to authoritarian

During his term of office as Interior Minister, Larayedh was known for being a good listener of his opponents and was often respected by the opposition. He was even described as “a successful statesman” by newspapers most opposing to Islamists’ rule.

However, this image which marked the beginning of his term of office did not last long; Larayedh faced severe criticism by the opposition, media, and civil society organizations following the suppression of protests in Siliana Governorate by police that used shotguns. Opponents called for his resignation, especially since he was charged with adopting a double standard by suppressing opposition protests while allowing Ennahda supporters. He was also accused ot dealing comparatively lenient with salafists violence.

During his term, subsequent events disturbed the country and threatened interior security as well as the security of figures and structures with no effective actions by the ministry, such as the April 9 events, when policemen severely attacked protesters, journalists and politicians, claiming a significant number of casualties. The issue has not yet been settled, despite promises to investigate the events by an ad hoc committee. “The 9^th April events are bygones,” Larayedh  recently said.

Another incident for which he was criticized was the rape of a girl by policemen and the failure to manage the attack on the US Embassy on September 14, 2012 and its accompanied violence. Finally, the assassination of Shoukri Belaid , the left-wing opposition politician, was a stifling crisis inflicted upon Larayedh, especially with the circulation of news to the effect that Belaid had called him to report the threats, but Larayedh underestimated them and did not offer Belaid extra protection.

Despite Larayedh’s unsatisfactory performance, he was promoted by his party and entrusted to form the new government after the resignation of Jebali.

For all Tunisians

Upon receiving the resignation letter by President Moncef Marzouki  February 22, Larayedh promised that he would attempt to form a government for “all Tunisians.”

He stressed that he needed the support of “the presidency, the National Constituent Assembly, the political parties and civil society to lay down the democracy aspired by all.”

According to the Provisional Organization of Public Powers, Larayedh has, as of his designation date, 15 days to form his government, which should then gain the trust of a majority of 109 out of 217 votes of the National Constituent Assembly.