Chapter I · 1776 — 1799
Early Recognition and First Treaty
Even before it fully consolidated its independence, the United States had laid the foundations of its relationship with Tunisia in the pragmatic language of trade and diplomacy. The new republic’s merchant ships ventured into the Mediterranean almost from the moment the Revolutionary War had ended. The question of how to secure their passage through waters patrolled by the Barbary powers quickly became one of the young nation’s most pressing foreign policy challenges. The Regency of Tunis proved to be a valuable interlocutor. In 1795, it became one of the first states to engage diplomatically with the newly independent United States, a recognition that carried real weight. That engagement was formalized in 1797, when the two nations signed a Treaty of Peace and Friendship, establishing a framework of formal relations and mutual protections for trade and shipping in the Mediterranean. William Eaton was appointed the first U.S. Consul in Tunis in 1798, arriving in a city that had already demonstrated a willingness to deal with the Americans on terms of relative equality and good faith. In this way, the very earliest chapter of American foreign relations in the Arab world was written not in Europe’s grand capitals but on the North African shore. Tunisia’s place in the American story is older, and deeper, than is commonly remembered.
The United States signs a Peace Treaty with the Dey of Algiers. U.S. Consul to Algiers and Tunis, Joel Barlow, dispatches French merchant Joseph Famin to negotiate a similar treaty with the Bey of Tunis, marking a de facto Tunisian recognition of American Independence.
The Bey of Tunis, Hammouda Pacha Bey, and the United States sign a Treaty of Peace and Friendship, establishing formal relations and protections for trade and shipping in the Mediterranean.
American military officer William Eaton arrives in Tunis as U.S. Consul to the Regency of Tunis to renegotiate the 1797 agreement. In 1805, Eaton played a major role in the Battle of Derna (Libya), during the First Barbary War.
Chapter II · 1800 — 1865
Trade, Corsairs, and Consular Ties
In 1800, the United States established a consulate near the Place de la Bourse in Tunis, a posting that reflected Tunisia’s strategic position astride the Mediterranean trade routes on which American merchants increasingly depended. The young republic’s commitment to keeping those routes open was tested almost immediately by the Barbary Wars of 1801-1805 and 1815, when Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison refused to continue paying tribute in exchange for protection from privateering. Yet even amid that turbulence, diplomacy found its moments. In 1805, Tunisian envoy Sidi Soliman Mellimelli visited the United States, attended the first Iftar held at the White House, and helped resolve a dispute and stabilize relations between the two states. The warmth between the two governments found more ceremonial expression in 1865, when Muhammad III as-Sadiq Bey sent a life-size portrait of himself to the United States. In a gesture of reciprocity, the United States government responded with a portrait of George Washington modeled after the celebrated Lansdowne portrait.
U.S. Consul William Eaton opens the first U.S. Consulate in Tunisia, located near the intersection of Rue des Glacières, Rue Zarkoun, and Rue de l’Ancienne Douane. The building would house American diplomats until Tunisian independence in 1956.
Tensions between the Barbary States and the United States over privateering activity in the Mediterranean culminate in two short armed conflicts, known as the Barbary Wars. Both wars (1801-1805 and 1815) led to more secure treaties and commercial partnerships.
Sidi Soliman Mellimelli, Bey Hammouda Pasha’s envoy, arrives in the United States to negotiate a better peace. The Tunisian envoy was the first Muslim diplomatic envoy ever sent to the U.S. During his stay, President Thomas Jefferson organized the first-ever White House Iftar dinner, on December 9, 1805. That tradition continues until this day.
A veteran of the First Barbary War, and Chief Medical Officer of the U.S. Navy’s Mediterranean Station, Samuel D. Heap serves as U.S. Consul to Tunisia for close to 20 years. He remained in the country after his posting, and is now buried in the St. George Anglican Church cemetery, along with his wife Margaret, his daughter Susan, his son Gwynne, and his grandson Gwynne Jr. His son would later serve as U.S. Consul in Tunis.
A modernizing leader, Ahmed I Bey abolishes slavery in Tunisia, nineteen years before the United States. Ahmed Bey also established the military academy at Bardo, reformed the Zitouna mosque, modernized infrastructure, and promoted economic development.
American President Abraham Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing enslaved people in the Confederate states. In 1865, the U.S. Congress passed and the states ratified the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, abolishing slavery throughout the United States.
Muhammed III as-Sadiq Bey sends an envoy to U.S. President Johnson to express condolences for the assassination of President Lincoln. The envoy presented Johnson with a life-size swagger portrait of Sadiq Bey. To reciprocate, the U.S. sends a similar portrait of George Washington.
Letter transcription · 8 · III · 1806
Sidi Soliman Mellimelli to James Madison
No. 7
Sidi Soliman Mellimelli, Ambassador &c. to the Secretary of State
Health.
In answer to your letter of yesterday I have the honor to inform you, that no peace between the United States of America and the Regency of Tunis can be ever permanent untill the Government of said states, conform to the custom practiced by the Christian powers of the same magnitude and occasionally make presents of military stores to the regency of Tunis. My proposal Relative to your sending some articles of that description by the Lebeque when returned to his Excy my Master proceeded from my great desire to promote a good understanding between him and his Excy the President; in hopes that in the fluctuation of human events something might intervene to render the parties more prosperous to each others views and to thus prevent a war.
As those term have been rejected by his Excy the President, I have now the honor to propose and if accepted will conclude a truce between the parties for the term of one year to commence from my arrival at Tunis as it is my wish to prevent our respective Government from deciding precipitately upon Affairs of so much importance and which may involve consequences at present incalculable by both parties; but if his Excy the president things that the period of one year is too long to be allow’d for discussion And wishes a final decision to be made immediately after my arrival at Tunis, I am instructed to inform you that the term may be reduced to one month to commence in like manner leaving the choice of either directly to the option of the President of the U States.
By the letter of credence which I had the honor to present to his Excy the President immediately after my arrival in this City, you will be informed that my master has a[ ]ted no will full power to transact all his concerns at this court and has promised to ratify whatever arrangement I may think proper to make in his name with his Excy the president consequently the Measures you propose to take in the Mediterranean for ascertaining from the Bashaw himself whether he means war or peace is superfluous as it can be ascertained here on the spot & I presume that the subject of this communication will remove every doubt from the Presidents mind relative to the Hammada Bashaws intentions.
Whether a truce should be concluded for one or twelve months, I respectfully request his Excelcy the President to have the goodness to mention the period in his letter to the Bashaw of Tunis, which I hope to have the honor to bear, in answer to one I delivered him on my arrival and that a duplicate of any agreement that may take place, signed and sealed by the contracting parties may he inclosed therein in order to prevent the possibility of misunderstanding each other.
With heartfelt regret I shall leave this Country while our affairs wear so inauspicious a complexion, but I am bound to obey the commands of my master: that depended on me, I have already done, at present nothing remains but to await the events.
I have the honor
Signed Sidi Suliman Mallimalli
City Washington March 8th 1807 [sic]
[To] Hon. James Madison
Tobias Lear Papers, William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan
Interlude · 1881 — 1956
French Protectorate Period
The French government established control over Tunisia through the Treaty of Bardo on May 12, 1881, ending Tunisian power to conduct its own international diplomacy. During the French protectorate, the United States maintained a consular presence, apart from several closings. During most of this period, the United States dealt primarily with French authorities on matters affecting American interests in Tunisia.
During the Tunisian nationalist struggle, the United States recognized Tunisian aspirations for independence. The office was raised to the status of a Consulate General effective May 22, 1946, reflecting growing American engagement in the postwar period. The United States was the first great power to recognize the sovereign state of Tunisia on March 22, 1956. The U.S. Embassy opened officially on June 5, 1956.
France invades Tunisia and declares it a protectorate. While U.S.-Tunisia relations continued, France largely mediated them. During this period, American commercial and missionary activity persisted.
Chapter III · 1941 — 1943
World War II in North Africa
Tunisia’s significance to American foreign policy and military strategy came into sharp focus during the early 1940s. From 1941 to 1943, Hooker Doolittle served as U.S. Consul in Tunis, cultivating a meaningful personal relationship with the nationalist leader Habib Bourguiba, offering quiet support for Tunisian aspirations to independence. American engagement with North Africa accelerated dramatically in November 1942, when the United States and the United Kingdom launched Operation Torch, the Allied landings in Morocco and Algeria that opened the North Africa campaign. President Franklin D. Roosevelt himself underscored Tunisia’s strategic weight when he stopped in Tunis to confer with General Eisenhower. By May 1943, the campaign culminated in a decisive victory that prepared the way for the invasion of Sicily and the broader push into southern Europe. The human cost of that victory was honored permanently in 1948, when the American Battle Monuments Commission established the North Africa American Cemetery and Memorial in Carthage.
In 1943, U.S. Consul Hooker Doolittle prevents French colonial authorities from charging Habib Bourguiba with treason. In 1946, Doolittle, then U.S. Consul in Alexandria, Egypt, issued Bourguiba a visa to travel to the United States for a session of the United Nations General Assembly.
The United States and United Kingdom launch Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of French North Africa. Operation Torch was the first large-scale Allied invasion involving U.S. ground forces in the European-North African theater of World War II.
During the six-day Battle of Kasserine Pass (February 19-24, 1943), American and allied forces suffered close to 10,000 casualties. Though initially viewed as a fiasco, the battle taught lessons that transformed Allied military tactics and marked a turning point in the war in North Africa.
Following the liberation of Tunisia, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt stopped in Tunis to meet General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who oversaw Operation Torch.
The American Battle Monuments Commission establishes the North Africa American Cemetery and Memorial in Carthage, after the French protectorate and Tunisian authorities granted the land for use in perpetuity. The 11-hectare memorial holds the remains of 2,841 American service members who died during Operation Torch.
Chapter IV · 1956 — 1980s
Independence and Cold War Alignment
When Tunisia gained independence in 1956, the United States moved swiftly to recognize the new state, signaling Washington’s confidence in Habib Bourguiba and his vision for a stable, modernizing Tunisia. President Bourguiba’s pro-Western yet non-aligned foreign policy made Tunisia a valued Cold War partner, and cooperation expanded rapidly across multiple fronts. In 1957, the United States launched what would become a sustained, 35-year commitment to Tunisian development. In 1961, Bourguiba gave that partnership a personal and symbolic dimension when he made his first State Visit to the United States. That same year, Tunisia became the first Arab country to welcome U.S. Peace Corps volunteers. Cultural ties deepened alongside the diplomatic ones: in 1967, jazz legend Louis Armstrong performed at the 4th International Festival of Carthage, and in 1969 Bourguiba met with President Richard Nixon, further cementing the two nations’ alignment. The early 1970s brought further milestones — Apollo 12 astronauts visited Tunisia in 1970, and in 1972 the new Carthage International Airport terminal opened with significant American investment. In 1976, film crews for Star Wars arrived in Tunisia launching a long and fruitful relationship between Tunisia and the American film industry.
On March 20, Tunisia gains independence from France. Fewer than three months after independence, the U.S. Consulate General was raised to the status of U.S. Embassy and relocated to Avenue de la Liberté.
In March, the first U.S.-Tunisia bilateral economic and technical aid agreement is signed in Tunis. Over the next 35 years, U.S. assistance programs, administered by USAID from 1961, provided more than US$1.4 billion in assistance, with a focus on major infrastructure projects.
In May, President Habib Bourguiba makes an official State Visit to the United States. In addition to meetings with President John F. Kennedy, Bourguiba addressed the U.S. Congress and was honored with a ticker-tape parade in New York City.
In 1961, Tunisia becomes the first Arab country to welcome U.S. Peace Corps volunteers. Over the next 35 years, more than 2,000 American volunteers worked on local community development, education, and agriculture.
On July 31, U.S. jazz icon Louis ‘Satchmo’ Armstrong plays at the 4th International Festival of Carthage. Armstrong was one of many American artists to have participated in this internationally celebrated venue held in the Roman Theater of Carthage.
On April 1, the day after attending former President Eisenhower’s funeral, President Bourguiba meets President Richard Nixon in the Oval Office.
U.S. astronauts Charles ‘Pete’ Conrad, Richard Gordon, and Alan Bean from the Apollo 12 mission visit Tunisia as part of a world tour. During the visit, Conrad presented President Bourguiba with a flag flown on the mission. An estimated 300,000 Tunisians lined Avenue Bourguiba for the parade.
On August 1, President Bourguiba inaugurates the new terminal at Carthage International Airport. During his speech, Bourguiba thanked the United States for assisting in the project with a US$6.2 million USAID grant.
U.S. Film Director George Lucas begins filming scenes for Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope in Tozeur, Nabeul, Matmata, and Djerba. The film was released in 1977. The positive experience made Tunisia a major location for the U.S. film industry. Noteworthy U.S. motion pictures filmed in Tunisia include Raiders of the Lost Ark, The English Patient, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.
Chapter V · 1990s — Present
Stability and Security Focus
In 1996, Michael Jackson brought his HIStory World Tour to Tunis, a moment that captured how thoroughly American culture had woven itself into Tunisian public life over the preceding decades. In 2002, the United States opened a new Embassy, a tangible investment in a long-term presence and enduring commitment. In 2015, the United States designated Tunisia a Major Non-NATO Ally, formally recognizing a security partnership built quietly over generations. Between those two milestones came one of the most consequential moments in modern Tunisian history: the 2011 “Jasmine Revolution,” which ended the autocratic regime of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and ignited the Arab Spring. The United States publicly supported Tunisia’s democratic transition and significantly increased assistance for civil society organizations, electoral institutions, and economic stabilization. The ties connecting American and Tunisian history, including cultural exchanges, development programs, security partnerships, and democratic aspirations, remain remarkably rich. Today, the United States’ close collaboration with Tunisia on trade and security builds on ties the two countries have nurtured over the last 230 years.
On October 7, the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, sings to close to 60,000 spectators at the Stade Olympique d’el Menzah. The concert was Jackson’s first as a solo artist on the African continent and his only concert in the Arab World.
In November, the U.S. Embassy relocates from Avenue de la Liberté to its new, modern campus at Berges du Lac II.
On December 17, 2010, the self-immolation of street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi in Sidi Bouzid sparks nationwide protests against President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, culminating in Ben Ali’s flight from the country on January 14, 2011. The United States publicly supports the democratic transition by increasing assistance for civil society, elections, and economic stabilization.
Following a high-profile meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama and President Beji Caid Essebsi, that culminated in a co-authored New York Times opinion piece, the United States designates Tunisia as a Major Non-NATO Ally. The United States and Tunisia continue to strengthen cultural, economic, and military cooperation.
In April, Tunisian military personnel participate for the first time in the joint military exercise African Lion. At the time, Exercise African Lion was the largest annual training event of U.S. Marine Corps Forces Europe (MARFOREUR) and U.S. Marine Corps Forces Africa (MARFORAF). Approximately 1,300 military personnel from the United States, Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, Spain, and Tunisia traveled to various regions of the Kingdom of Morocco to take part in the exercise. Tunisia marked its 10th consecutive year of participation in Exercise African Lion 2026.
The Art of Diplomacy: Two Portraits, One Friendship
Louis-Augustin Simil (French), Portrait of His Highness The Mushir Mohammed Essadek, Bey of Tunis (Muhammad III as-Sadiq), 1865
Oil on canvas · 85.75 × 56 in (canvas)
The Diplomatic Reception Rooms, U.S. Department of State · RR-1981.0138 · on loan at the U.S. Ambassador’s Residence in Tunisia
John Woodhouse Audubon (American, 1812–1862), George Washington, 1838
Oil on canvas · 97.5 × 62.5 in (approx.)
National Heritage Collection, Ksar Said Palace
Finale 230 · 1795 — 2026
A Friendship of 230 Years
The ties connecting American and Tunisian history, including cultural exchanges, development programs, security partnerships, and democratic aspirations, remain remarkably rich. Today, the United States’ close collaboration with Tunisia on trade and security builds on ties the two countries have nurtured over the last 230 years.