Jeune Afrique Founder - Béchir Ben Yahmed (1928 - 2021)

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Béchir Ben Yahmed - Founder and historic head of Jeune Afrique, died Monday, May 3 at the Parisian hospital Lariboisière as a result of getting infected with Covid-19.

Born in Djerba on April 2, 1928, in Tunisia under a French Protectorate, he joined HEC in Paris in 1947, where he was the only African student. At the end of his studies, he joined the Tunisian independence movement within Habib Bourguiba's political party - Neo Destour, and was both his right arm and confidant. In 1954, he was part of the Tunisian delegation which negotiated with the President of the French Council, Pierre Mendès France, Tunisia’s internal autonomy, and then its independence.

Bourguiba entrusted him with the information portfolio in 1956. At 28, Béchir Ben Yahmed became the youngest Minister in the first government of independent Tunisia. Always a free and independent spirit, he decided to cut ties with the latter in 1957, to whom he reproached his authoritarianism, to embark on journalism, his lifelong passion.

He left for Cuba, where he met Che Guevara, then for Vietnam, where Ho Chi Minh and Pham Van Dong predicted their victory over the American superpower. Shortly after, he founded the weekly magazine L'Action, which he renamed Jeune Afrique in 1961. To give himself the means for his independence, he decided in 1962 to leave Tunis for Rome and then, two years later, for Paris where the Group is still established.

A respected figure in the media world, Béchir Ben Yahmed contributed to propel Africa’s voice internationally by the means of a magazine. Founded to support the emancipation movement of the countries that, at the dawn of the 1960s, gained independence, Jeune Afrique took an active part in all the struggles that have since occurred in the history of the Continent: against single parties and for democratization in the '70s and '80s, for economic independence in the '90s and 2000s and Africa's inclusion in globalization in the years 2000-2020.

Regarded in its origins as a challenge, the Group he created is celebrating its Sixtieth anniversary this year. A true school of journalism where personalities such as Frantz Fanon, Kateb Yacine and, more recently, the Goncourt award winners Amin Maalouf and Leïla Slimani have worked. Jeune Afrique  has left its mark on generations of readers. Its influence has even earned it the label of "Africa's 55th State". Through his positions, notably in his famous column “What I believe”, Béchir Ben Yahmed has influenced several generations of students and personalities who have fashioned the destiny of Africa.

A privileged witness to all the upheavals in Africa and the Middle East, a committed observer and columnist, Béchir Ben Yahmed has worked alongside key figures of the Continent throughout his career: Egypt’s Nasser, Ghana’s Nkrumah, Congo’s Lumumba, FLN leaders (and future Algerian Presidents) Ben Bella, Boumédiène and Bouteflika, Senegal’s Senghor, Ivorian Houphouët-Boigny, and Morocco’s Hassan II.

Around the weekly Jeune Afrique, a group has been formed over the years, expanding with other titles, newsletters, a publishing house, a department dedicated to events planning, and, of course, online news sites.

By the end of the 2000s, Béchir Ben Yahmed handed over the reins of the group to his sons, Amir and Marwane, as well as to the Managing Editor -  François Soudan. His wife - Danielle, who had played a vital role alongside him throughout the history of the newspaper, started the Group's publishing house.

Always passionate about current affairs, in 2003 he embarked on a new project, La Revue, a magazine which analyzed international (and no longer just African) news which ran monthly for several years before becoming bi-monthly.

At a time when the debate on de-colonial thought and identities is in full swing, Jeune Afrique will continue to lead the battles of its founder, fervent defender of a sovereign Africa, an Africa which is innovative and which should be recognised in the world at its true value.

Founded in Tunis in 1960, Jeune Afrique Media Group is a pan-African media group based in Paris. Through its various publications (Jeune Afrique, The Africa Report, and Jeune Afrique Business+), the Group offers, in French and English, coverage of African and international news as well as avenues for reflection on the political and economic challenges of the Continent.