Tunisia's main union picks Selmi as new leader, role in politics uncertain

In Tunisia, 67‑year‑old education unionist Slaheddine Selmi has been elected head of the powerful Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT).

Presenting himself as a candidate of continuity and stability, he is widely seen as familiar with the organisation’s inner workings and acceptable to many factions inside the union.

In his first remarks to Tunisian media on Saturday 28 March 2026, Selmi said he wants to put social dialogue with the government back on track after months of rupture. Originally from Kairouan and a long‑time member of the primary education union, he previously sat on the UGTT’s executive bureau.

Selmi has set two priorities: greater transparency and defending the UGTT’s independence from any political instrumentalisation or tension. He faces two major challenges: deep internal divisions, which forced the union to hold its elective congress a year early, and very strained relations with the executive power.

Since 2017, Noureddine Tabboubi has headed the UGTT union confederation, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2015 along with three other Tunisian organisations for their role in the country's democratic transition.

Tabboubi told Tunisian radio channel Mosaique FM that his decision to stay on as the union's leader came "in response to wishes of the majority of the union's administrative council members".