Mehdi jomaa biography

by Naharnet Newsdesk 11 years

Tunisia's political parties chose Industry Minister Mehdi Jomaa Saturday to head a government of independent figures aimed at pulling the country out of a months-long crisis, the principal mediator said.

"Dialogue and discussions led to a vote and the choice of Mehdi Jomaa as the candidate for the post of head of government," said Houcine Abassi, secretary general of the powerful UGTT trade union.

"Our people have waited for a long time, but despite the difficulties and obstacles... this dialogue has not failed," he said, adding his "congratulations to Tunisia."

Of the 21 parties participating in the talks, only the Nidaa Tounes party rejected the choice and abstained in the vote.

According to a deal clinched between Tunisia's main parties in October, the new premier has 15 days to form his new government of independents.

He also faces the weighty task of organizing elections in 2014.

Jomaa, a relative unknown, is a 51-year-old engineer with no stated political affiliation. He is married and has five children.

He graduated from the National Engineering School of Tunis in 1988 before taking a higher degree in mechanics, his official biography published in March by state news agency TAP said.

He then went on to a career in the private sector, and headed a division of Hutchinson, the aerospace unit of French conglomerate Total.

He became industry minister following the formation in March of a new government by Ali Larayedh in the crisis that erupted following the assassination a month earlier of key opposition figure Chokri Belaid.

Since then, Jomaa has stayed aloof from the country's political jockeying and focused on his portfolio. In particular, he has lobbied European firms to invest in the country, plagued by economic woes since the ouster nearly three years ago of dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

But he has also taken the unpopular step of backing a decision to rai

Prime Minister of Tunisia (2014–2015)

Mehdi Jomaa (Arabic: مهدي جمعة; born 21 April 1962) is a Tunisian engineer and was the acting Prime Minister of Tunisia from 29 January 2014 to 6 February 2015. He was chosen on 14 December 2013. Jomaa was Minister of Industry in the Ali Laarayedh government.

Early life

He was born on 21 April 1962 in Mahdia, Tunisia. He graduated from the National Engineering School, Tunis in 1998. He is an engineer by profession. He also holds a postgraduate degree in structural mechanics and in modeling. He spent most of his career at Hutchinson and at Total. He is married and has five children. He was a general manager at Hutchinson Aerospace when he quit his job.

Political life

After Hamadi Jebali asked him to be part of his government, he quit his professional career to contribute to the country's transition into democracy after the crackdown of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali government in the 2011 uprising. He did not belong to any political party; he was an Independent. On 13 March 2013, he became Minister of Industry in a coalition government led by Ennahda after Ali Laarayedh appealed him to be part of his government. After the assassination of Mohamed Brahmi in July, there had been a political deadlock. To ease the situation, parties entered a national dialogue which was held for weeks; on 14 December 2013, both ruling and opposition parties agreed to choose Jomaa as the interim Prime Minister until the next election. His government was technocratic. The leftist Popular Front coalition doubted whether he could handle the present situation. His caretaker government carried out the process for new elections and attempted to deal with the economic issues.

After Habib Essid became Prime Minister in

Mehdi Jomaa is a former Prime Minister of Tunisia who, as head of government, was in charge of completing the transition process with the ultimate objective of anchoring the country towards a democratic way.  

Mehdi Jomaa was born in Mahdia, Tunisia, in April 1962; he received his Master’s Degree in Engineering in Tunisia (ENIT).  

As CEO of Hutchinson Aerospace Division and Member of the Executive committee along 25 years spent at Hutchinson, he worked on several programs dealing with aerospace industries, developing solid strategy, international business management, organization change and transformation leadership.  

The switch from corporate to political career began in March 2013, when he was appointed Minister of Industry in Tunisia. In this capacity he initiated several policy changes including a new energy strategy with an increasing mix of renewable, high-added value industrial policy, rationalisation of energy subsidies, culture change and social responsibility in Tunisian large industrial groups.  In January 2014 and after several months of an acute political crisis, which stalled the transition process, he was elected by the National Dialogue Committee to lead the country and became the Head of Government. 

As Head of Government, he introduced a new and innovative governance procedure based on a trilogy of “vision, strategy and leadership”. During his tenure in office, Mr Jomaa restructured and enhanced the capabilities of the security apparatus for a more efficient response to terrorism, launched the national economic dialogue  to build national consensus around priority fiscal and structural reforms. In September 2014 he organised a major investment conference entitled “Invest in Tunisia: Start-up Democracy”.  

Mr. Jomaa is founder of a think tank “Tunisia Alternatives” aiming to work on various policy reforms and provides a high-level technical expertise on Reforms processes and Social Policies. Furthermore, he is holder of decora