Mohamed El Aziz Ben Achour

Mohamed El Aziz Ben Achour (Arabic: ) is a Tunisian politician and historian born on 5 January 1951; he specializes in urban, social and cultural history of modern Tunisia and the Islamic civilization. He was the Minister of Culture some time between 2004 and 2008, and later Director-General of the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) some time between 2009 and 2013.
Life.
He was Director of Heritage Sciences at the National Heritage Institute and later Director-General of Institut supérieur d'histoire du mouvement national (French for "The Higher Institute of History of the National Movement") as well as Governor of Historic Site at Sidi Bou Said at the same time. He also served as Municipal Councillor for the Democratic Constitutional Rally in Tunis for some time between 1995 and 2000, and later became Deputy Mayor of Tunis until 2005.
In November 2004, he was appointed Minister of Culture in the First cabinet of Mohamed Ghannouchi and remained at the head of the ministry until August 2008. In December of the same year, he was elected Director-General of the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization for a four-year period that started on February 1, 2009.
Education.
Mohamed El Aziz belongs to the , an ancient bourgeois family in Tunis which descends from Andalusia. He is the grandson of Sheikh Muhammad al-Tahir ibn Ashur, and the son of and Radiya Al-Jaluli.
He obtained a master's degree in history from Tunis University, then a degree in scientific studies, followed by a Ph.D. in Islamic civilization in 1977, and another in humanities in 1986, all from the Sorbonne.