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Minister of Tourism
Karboul was named the Minister of Tourism for Tunisia in January of 2014. She was the first woman in Tunisian history to occupy the position, and served as the youngest member of Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa’s government from January of 2014 to February of 2015.
During her speech at the TEDx Carthage event in 2014, Karboul shared an account of her invitation to become part of the new Tunisian government. “Three months ago, I had a phone call that changed my life,” she said. “Our prime minister, Mehdi Jomaa, called me and said ‘Tunisia needs us. Come back home. Come back to rebuild our nation. Come back to be part of a startup democracy team.”[20]
Controversy was raised around Karboul during a session of Tunisia’s Constituent Assembly meant to give the incoming government a vote of confidence. The incident began when some members of the assembly criticized over rumors that she had once visited Israel.[21] Mehdi Jomaa defended his minister, stating that Karboul had never followed through with the trip in question after she was interrogated for several hours in an airport, reportedly for being Arab and Muslim. The new government would eventually gain the assembly’s vote of confidence.[22]
The new government of Medi Johmaa was sworn in on January 29 of 2014.[23] Karboul would tender her resignation from the position of Minister of Tourism just hours later. “It is the Prime Minister’s decision whether to accept my resignation or not,” she said.[24]
Karboul expressed her commitment to serve Tunisia, noting that despite several difficulties, the country still offers opportunities of development.[25] Jomaa would refuse this resignation, citing his continued confidence in his minister.
As Minister of Tourism, Karboul general role was to revamp Tunisia’s tourism, which represents 8-12 percent of their GDP and is vital to the well-being of 20 percent of the population.[26] She also helped ensure transparent elections took place, along with working to create more effective economic and social governance policies.
During her term, Karboul generated “national hype” for her activity on social media.[27] She has earned international awards for use of these social platforms to encourage youth empowerment in the digital world.[28]
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