Béchir Ben Slama

Born in Le Bardo on 14 October 1931, Ben Slama attended primary and secondary school at Sadiki College. He was admitted to the École normale supérieure de Tunis [fr] in 1956, where he studied the Arabic language and French literature. He then began teaching at the Lycée Alaoui [fr] but quit in 1963 to pursue a political career.

Ben Slama was elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1969, where he remained for three terms. He became a leader within the Socialist Destourian Party in 1980. On 2 January 1981, he was appointed Minister of Culture. During his mandate, he established the Tunisian Academy of Sciences, Letters, and Arts and the National Theatre of Tunisia.^[2] He left his position on 12 May 1986.

Béchir Ben Slama died on 26 February 2023, at the age of 91.^[3]