Fethia Mzali

Fethia Mokhtar Mzali (6 April 1927 – 12 February 2018) was a Tunisian teacher and politician who became one of the country's first two female ministers in 1983. Her husband, Mohammed Mzali, served as the country's Prime Minister from 1980 to 1986.

Early life and education Fethia Mokhtar was born on 6 April 1927 in Tunis. She attended primary school at a Muslim girls' school and then the Bardo girls school. Her secondary schooling was interrupted by World War II, but completed in 1942 at Armand Fallières High School in Nérac in 1947. She obtained a degree in philosophy from the Sorbonne in Paris in 1952.

Career Mzali was a teacher and then headmistress at the Teachers' College in Tunis. In 1974, she was appointed president of the organisation, a post she held until 1986. However, her appointment under President Habib Bourguiba was criticised for contributing to the women's movement in Tunisia languishing under his influence.

In 1957, Mzali was elected as a municipal councillor for the city of Tunis, serving a three-year term. Mzali was dismissed from her position in June 1986 after her husband's dismissal from the ruling party's administration. They fled the country for France, and in April 1987 Mohammed Mzali was convicted in absentia of abuse of social property and unlawful enrichment. The conviction was annulled in 2002, allowing their return to Tunisia. She also received decorations from the governments of France, Finland and Senegal.