An evening with the Tunisian national dialogue quartet, Nobel Peace Prize

Houcine Abassi started his trade union activities in 1973 as a member of the trade union of school supervisors, then as a member of the regional union of school supervisors and principals in 1983. Then he became a member of the General Union of School Supervisors and Principals. In 1997, he was elected member of the Regional Union of Kairouan, becoming its Secretary General in 2003.

In December 2006, he was elected a member of the national executive bureau of the General Union of Tunisian Workers (UGTT) at the national congress held in the city of Monastir. He was assigned the department of legislation and industrial disputes. Later he became the acting Deputy Secretary General in charge of research and documentation. He held both positions until the following congress in December 2011 in the city of Tabarka when he was elected Secretary General of the UGTT.

He is a standing member of the Executive Bureau and the General Council of the International Trade Union Confederation as UGTT's Secretary General and the President of the Arab Trade Unions Confederation.

Houcine Abassi has been known for his committed stances and his support to freedom-seekers and democracy-lovers since he was the Secretary General of the Regional Labor Union of Kairouan, where he was the most prominent supporter of the Tunisian League for Human Rights, the Tunisian Bar Association and the Tunisian Judges Association.

He effectively led the initiative launched by the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT) to help Tunisia emerge from the crisis following the elections of October 23, 2011. He was the main manager of the National Dialogue, which included the Tunisian General Labour Union, the Tunisian Union of Industry, Commerce and Handicrafts, the Tunisian National Bar Association and the Tunisian League for Human Rights. This allowed Tunisia to achieve the main objectives of the transitional process, such as drafting and adopting the Constitution, the promulgation of the Elections Act and the establishment of the High Independence Instances of Elections, paving the way for legislative and presidential elections, which many observers felt were transparent and democratic. His intervention with the most important political parties was decisive, as he succeeded in bringing their views closer together in the interest of Tunisia.

With the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet, Houcine Abassi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2015.

Born in Gabes in 1961, Ouided Bouchamaoui holds a DESS (master’s degree) in International Business from the Institut Supérieur de Gestion of Tunis (ISG Business School) and a DESS in International Trade Law from the Faculty of Juridical and Political Sciences of Tunis 2.

A shareholder and administrator of the Hedi Bouchamaoui Group (HBG Holding), she is also a founding member of the Connecting Group (a network of women leaders) and has been the Vice President of the Tunisian Foundation of Control and Governance since 2009.

Since May 2011, Ouided Bouchamaoui has been the President of UTICA, the Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts (a confederation of private employers), the first woman ever elected to the position.

In 2013, UTICA, with the UGTT, the Tunisian General Labor Union, the Tunisian Human Rights League (LTDH) and the Tunisian Order of Lawyers, formed The Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet, a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate in 2015.

In 2013, Ouided Bouchamaoui was named Best Business Woman of the Arab World and was a Business for Peace Award honouree in 2014.

In January 2015, Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi made her a Grand Officer of the Order of the Republic – First Class – and His Majesty the King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, decorated Ms. Bouchamaoui with the Royal Order of the Polar Star in November 2015.

In December 2015, she also received the Legion of Honour from French President François Hollande.

Mohamed Fadhel Mahfoudh has been president of the Tunisian Order of Lawyers since June 2013. He has many years of experience in the law. A lawyer for the Court of Cassation since 2001, he was first member of the Sfax regional council of the Tunisian Order of Lawyers (1998-2004), then secretary general (2007-2010) and, finally, president (2010-2013). He was also a member of the Independent High Authority for Elections and was responsible for Tunisians living abroad in 2011.

Mohamed Fadhel Mahfoudh is known on the international scene primarily as one of the members of the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet. A winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2015, this group of four organizations with divergent political views made its mark for its decisive role in building a pluralist democracy after the Arab Spring revolution of 2011 in Tunisia. The Quartet’s concerted actions resulted in holding presidential and legislative elections, and in ratifying the new Tunisian Constitution in 2014.

A lawyer by vocation, Abdessatar Ben Moussa has been the president of the Tunisian Human Rights League since September 23, 2011. Before taking on the role, he had an impressive career in a variety of organizations. He was a member of the Tunis Lawyers Section (1989-1995), the National Council of Tunis Attorneys (2001-2004), the Permanent Bureau of Arab Lawyers (2004-2007), as well as the governing board of the International Association of Lawyers (IAL) (2004-2008). He also chaired the Tunisian National Committee of the IAL (2004-2008) along with the Siliana section of the Tunisian Human Rights League (1989-2011).

His professional experience led to his being named president of the Tunisian Human Rights League in 2011. That same year, Tunisia saw a major revolution resulting in the fall of the Ben Ali regime. Abdessatar Ben Moussa then joined the three other members of the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet to restore democracy to the country. The group’s concerted efforts resulted in presidential and legislative elections being held and the new Tunisian Constitution of 2014 being ratified. This accomplishment earned them the Nobel Peace Prize for 2015.

Since October 29, 2015, Abdessatar Ben Moussa has been an IAL goodwill ambassador. He is also a member of the governing body of the Arab Organization for Human Rights and of the board of directors of the Arab Institute for Human Rights.