Early Life and Education
Elyes Fakhfakh was born in the Tunisian capital of Tunis in 1972. He would then attend the National Engineering School of Sfax where he earned his bachelor’s degree in engineering in 1995. He would continue his education at the Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon in France where he earned a masters in engineering. Being the studious young man that he is, he also earned a master’s in business administration from the University of Évry Val d'Essonne.
Life and Work Abroad
Fakhfakh would go on to work as a project manager for Hutchinson SA, a French company that manufactures rubber and is a subsidiary of Total SA. Under his management, 45 of the company’s factories around the world managed to cut production costs. Afterward he became the project manager of the company’s branch in Poland.
Return to Tunisia
Fakhfakh went back to Tunisia in 2006 to work as the general manager of a company that specializes in car components. When the company was bought by a Spanish corporation, he became the general manager for Caveo Automotive Group, and he stayed at that position until 2011.
Entrance into Politics
The political landscape in Tunisia, as political participation increased and people could form political factions and parties for the first time. Fakhfakh went on to join the social democratic party Ettakatol. Under the Islamist Jebali government he was appointed Minister of Tourism. In December 2012, he was given another role this time he became the Minister of Finance, so for a while he was in charge of two ministries. In March 2013, Fakhfakh’s only post became that of Minister of Finance, and that was under the government of the Islamist Ali Larayedh. His ministerial career ended in January 29, 2014, however that wasn’t the end of his political career.
2019 Presidential Elections
Fakhfakh decided to throw his hat into the 2019 presidential race, running as the nominee from Ettakatol. He went out in the first round having earned only 11,532 votes, or 0.34 percent of the total votes cast.
Chosen to Alleviate a Political Stalemate
The 2019 parliamentary election posed a dilemma in Tunisia’s political sphere. While Muslim Brotherhood affiliated Ennahda Movement earned the most votes, it don’t not have a majority that would enable them to form a functioning government. In accordance to the Tunisian constitution, it up to the president to choose the Prime Minister. In turn, the Prime Minister designate is to form a government which the parliament approves. As such, the newly elected Tunisian president, Kais Saied, chose Elyes Fakhfakh as the new head of government. However, he soon might face an early challenge since the Ennahda announced that its members would not vote in favor of Fakhfakh’s government. As a result, his tenure might be a short lived one and Saied might be forced to dissolve parliament and hold early parliamentary elections.
