crown CU Home > Libraries Home
Columbia Center for Oral History Portal >

Oral history interview with Nidhal Ouerfelli, 2015

Creator: Ouerfelli, Nidhal
Project: Tunisian Transition oral history collection.
(see all project interviews)
Phys. Desc. :Transcript: 69 pages Transcript: 64 pages
Location: Columbia Center for Oral History
Full CLIO record >>

Biographical Note

Nidhal Ouerfelli is director of international relations at the French Commissariat for Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies in Saclay, France. In 2014, he was appointed Minister to the Head of Government in charge of coordination and economic affairs in Tunisia's technocratic government. In 2013, he was appointed Secretary of State for Energy and Mines to the Minister of Industry in the Ali Laayaredh government. Before that, he worked at the Atomic Energy Commissariat as an intern and then a researcher

Scope and Contents

Nidhal Ouerfelli describes his education and work in the French energy sector, during which he became acquainted with Mediterranean energy networks. He recalls the uprisings of 2010, which he witnessed from France. He describes being asked to participate in Ali Laarayedh's government, and beginning to work closely with Mehdi Jomaa. Ouerfelli was one of few people who continued working for the new government after the departure of Laarayedh's government and the Troika. Ouerfelli relates his daily work as a minister in Jomaa's government and examines how Jomaa's approach encouraged collaboration and conflict resolution. Jomaa's background in management enabled him to build a close-knit team that worked together with efficiency and without involvement in party politics. By the end of the mandate, Ouerfelli felt proud of his contribution to democracy in Tunisia. He also analyzes the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet in 2015. The interview's 69-page transcription from the original French is acompanied by a 64-page English translation

Subjects

Access Conditions

Copyright by the Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York, 2015

Using this collection

Columbia Center for Oral History

Address:
Columbia University
535 West 114th Street
801 Butler Library, Box 20
MC1129
New York, NY 10027
Telephone:
(212) 854-7083

Email:
oralhist
@libraries.cul.columbia.edu

Website:
Columbia Center for Oral History