René Trabelsi

René Trabelsi (; born 14 December 1962) is a Tunisian businessman and politician.

Early career Trabelsi completed his secondary studies in Djerba, Tunisia. In 1985, he left for France to continue his studies in management at a time when Tunisian Jews were particularly threatened: his 5-year-old nephew was killed in an antisemitic shooting in Djerba. Having dual French and Tunisian nationality, The appointment of a Jewish minister is a first since 1957 The Tunisian Minority Support Association denounces a campaign of defamation against the new minister.

His appointment was, however, welcomed by Tunisian actors and specialists in tourism, who appreciate the arrival of a professional in the sector.

In January 2019, Trabelsi faced another controversy when rumors accused him of giving a television interview to I24news, an Israeli channel, during which he allegedly discussed the Palestinian situation and the possibility of normalization with Israel. He denied this information that the interview, conducted at the request of the Palestinian ambassador in Tunis, was conducted by a Tunisian team for SCOPAL, a British information platform.

Since September 2019, Trabelsi represented Tunisia on the Executive Board of the World Tourism Organization.

On 8 November 2019 Trabelsi was named interim Minister of Transport.

On 2 January 2020, incoming head of government Habib Jemli intended to keep Trabelsi in his position as Minister of Tourism. However, the Jemli government was unable to gain the confidence of the Assembly of People's Representatives and Trabelsi was replaced by Mohamed Ali Toumi.

Private life René Trabelsi is the son of Perez Trabelsi, chairman of the Jewish Ghriba Committee and leader of the Jewish community in Djerba. Trabelsi was released from the hospital on 27 May 2020.