Chedli Klibi

{{Short description|Tunisian politician (1925–2020)}} {{More citations needed|date=June 2022}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Chedli Klibi | image = Chadli klibi.JPG | office = 4th Secretary-General of the Arab League | term_start = March 1979 | term_end = September 3, 1990 | predecessor = Mahmoud Riad | successor = Ahmed Asmat Abdel-Meguid | office2 = Minister of Information of Tunisia | term_start2 = 1978 | term_end2 = 1979 | predecessor2 = | successor2 = | office3 = Minister of Culture of Tunisia | term_start3 = December 8, 1976 | term_end3 = September 20, 1978 | predecessor3 = Mahmoud Messadi | successor3 = {{ill|Mohamed Yalaoui|fr}} | president3 = Habib Bourguiba | prime_minister3 = Hédi Nouira | office4 = | term_start4 = June 24, 1971 | term_end4 = November 30, 1973 | predecessor4 = Habib Boularès | successor4 = Mahmoud Messadi | president4 = Habib Bourguiba | prime_minister4 = Hédi Nouira | office5 = | term_start5 = October 7, 1961 | term_end5 = June 12, 1970 | predecessor5 = ''Office created'' | successor5 = Habib Boularès | president5 = Habib Bourguiba | prime_minister5 = Bahi Ladgham (1969–1970) | party = Socialist Destourian Party | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date|1925|9|6|df=y}} | birth_place = Tunis, Tunisia | death_date = {{Death date and age|2020|5|13 |1925|9|6| df=y}} | death_place = Tunis, Tunisia | caption = Klibi in 2013 | native_name_lang = ar | native_name = {{nobold|الشاذلي القليبي}} }}

'''Chedli Klibi''' ({{langx|ar|الشاذلي القليبي}}; September 6, 1925 – May 13, 2020) was a Tunisian politician. He was Secretary-General of the Arab League, and the only non-Egyptian to hold the post.

==Early life== Klibi graduated with a Baccalaureat de l'Enseignement Secondaire in philosophy from Sadiki College in 1944. After graduate work at the Pantheon-Sorbonne University where he earned a degree in Arabic language and literature in 1947. Having mastered the Arabic and French languages, he lectured at the Institut des Hautes Etudes and the Ecole Normale Superieure.

==Career== After becoming Director General of Radio Tunis in 1958, he became the Tunisian Minister of Cultural Affairs (1961–1970, 1971–1973, 1976–1978) under the chairmanship of Habib Bourguiba, then chief of staff to the president from 1974 to 1976 before being Minister of Information from 1978 to 1979. He also served as mayor of Carthage from 1963 to 1990. As mayor, he signed a symbolic "peace treaty" with the mayor of Rome, Ugo Vetere, in 1985 in commemoration of the 2,131st anniversary of the end of the Punic Wars between ancient Rome and ancient Carthage.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://apnews.com/article/9b6f6f5ba5be2408ff0502c7fb8abd5b|title=Rome and Carthage Sign Peace Treaty Ending Punic Wars After 2,131 Years|author=Habib Fakhari|publisher=AP News|date=February 5, 1985|accessdate=June 21, 2022}}</ref>

Klibi was appointed secretary general of the Arab League in March 1979, as a result of the Egypt–Israel peace treaty. In 1990, he resigned from the post without explanation. As secretary general he held three ordinary summits for the Heads of Arab States and six extraordinary summits. As member of the House of Councillors from 2005 to 2008, Klibi spent his retirement in his Carthage residence with his wife Klibi Kalthoum.

==Later life== He wrote ''Orient-Occident - la paix violente'' which was published in 1999. This book was written in the form of an interview with French journalist Jennifer Moll, in which he envisages several matters involving Islam, Europe and his experiences as secretary general of the Arab League.

==Honours==

===Tunisian national medals=== *{{Flagicon|Tunisia}} : *Grand Cordon of the Order of Independence *Grand Cordon of the Order of the Republic *Grand Cordon of the National Order of Merit of Tunisia

===Foreign honors=== *{{Flag|Algeria}} : Medal of Honor of the Republic of Algeria *{{Flag|Lebanon}} : Grand Cordon of the National Order of the Cedar *{{Flag|Morocco}} : Grand Cordon of the Order of Ouissam Alaouite *{{Flag|Palestine}} : Grand Cordon of the National Order of Palestine

== Publications== * {{in lang|fr}} ''Orient-Occident : la paix violente'', ed. Sand, Paris, 1999 * {{in lang|fr}} ''Habib Bourguiba : radioscopie d'un règne'', ed. Déméter, Tunis, 2012 *{{in lang|ar}} {{lang|ar|تونس و عوامل القلق العربي}} (''Tunisia and Arab anxiety factors''), ed. Sud editions, Tunis, 2020

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *[https://www.humanite.fr/1990-09-05_Articles_-DANGER-DESCISSION "Danger of division, ''Humanity'', September 5 1990]{{dead link|date=November 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

{{s-start}} {{succession box |before=Mahmoud Riad |title=Secretary-General of the Arab League |years=1979–1990 |after=Esmat Abdel Meguid| }} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Klibi, Chedli}} Category:1925 births Category:2020 deaths Category:Secretaries general of the Arab League Category:Culture ministers of Tunisia Category:Information ministers of Tunisia Category:Alumni of Sadiki College Category:Socialist Destourian Party politicians Category:Politicians from Tunis Category:Members of the Academy of the Arabic Language in Cairo Category:Mayors of Carthage Category:Recipients of the Order of the Republic (Tunisia) Category:Recipients of the National Order of Merit (Tunisia) Category:Grand Cordons of the National Order of the Cedar Category:Grand Cross of the Order of Ouissam Alaouite Category:Recipients of Grand Collar of Palestine