Moufida Bourguiba
Moufida Bourguiba (Arabic: مفيدة بورقيبة; née Mathilde Lorrain; 24 January 1890 – 15 November 1976) was the first wife of the President of Tunisia, Habib Bourguiba, and the inaugural First Lady of Tunisia from 1957 to 1961.
Moufida Bourguiba | |
|---|---|
مفيدة بورقيبة | |
 | |
| First Lady of Tunisia | |
| In office 25 July 1957 – 21 July 1961 | |
| President | Habib Bourguiba |
| Preceded by | Position created (Lalla Jeneïna Beya as Queen consort of Tunisia) |
| Succeeded by | Wassila Bourguiba |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Mathilde Lorrain January 24, 1890 Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, France |
| Died | November 15, 1976 (aged 86) Monastir, Tunisia |
| Spouse(s) |
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| Children | Habib Bourguiba, Jr. |
Biography
Mathilde Lorrain was born in France in 1890 in Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, Val-de-Marne. She married a French officer, Colonel le Fras who was killed at the very end of the First World War on 11 November 1918. She met Habib Bourguiba in 1925 whilst he was studying law at the University of Paris. Their only son, also Habib, was born in April 1927 and they married in August 1927.
After independence she converted to Islam and took the name "Moufida" on 25 October 1958. Her husband awarded her with a number of honours but she is claimed to have said that she only did things for him and his country.
The couple divorced in 1961. She died in Monastir in 1976. Her husband remarried Wassila Ben Ammar.
References
| Honorary titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Lalla Jeneïna Beya (as Queen consort of Tunisia) |
First Lady of Tunisia 1957–1961 |
Succeeded by Wassila Bourguiba |