The Higher Institute of Contemporary Tunisian History announces with deep sadness the passing of Mr. Habib Belaid, a distinguished professor and esteemed member of the Institute, who left us on Monday, September 8, 2025.

Renowned for his integrity, dedication, and commitment to scholarship, he tirelessly supported young researchers and academics both within and beyond the Institute. He devoted his life to promoting the Institute’s influence and prestige. Since the early 1980s, when he joined the “Research Program on the History of the National Movement,” he played a key role in strengthening the initiative by reproducing French archives related to the colonial era, bringing them to Tunisia, and making them accessible for historical research. He continued to oversee this work after the establishment of the Higher Institute of the History of the National Movement in 1990 and remained actively involved until his retirement.