Ala Khallidi ( Arabic ألا خلّدي) was the first national anthem of the Tunisian Republic (independence on March 20, 1956). It replaced the national anthem of the Beys of Tunis two years after independence in 1958, and it was also changed in 1987 with the regime change.
Ala Khallidi was composed under the government of the first Tunisian President, Habib Bourguiba (1903-2000). After the abolition of the monarchy, it was clear to the new rulers of Tunisia that the symbols of this monarchy also had to disappear. The Minister of Education (ministre de l'éducation nationale) organized a competition for the best national anthem, in which numerous Tunisian poets took part. It was important that both the text and the melody were written by Tunisians, as opposed to the Bey melody, for example, which was composed by an Egyptian.
The winners of this competition were the poet Jalaeddine Naccache (1910–1989) and the musician Salah El Mahdi , then director of the Tunis Conservatory. The competition took place in 1958, but it is not clear whether the national anthem was played on March 20, 1958 or not until March 20, 1959.
