BIOGRAPHIC UPDATE ON SAKHR EL-MATRI, GENIAL

S E C R E T TUNIS 000338 NOFORN SIPDIS NEA/MAG FOR (MHAYES, JPATTERSON) AND INR (TKING) E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/02/2019 TAGS: PINR PGOV PREL TS SUBJECT: BIOGRAPHIC UPDATE ON SAKHR EL-MATRI, GENIAL INTERLOCUTOR, RAISING HIS PROFILE REF: A. TUNIS 108 ¶B. 08 TUNIS 97689 Classified By: Ambassador Robert F. Godec for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (S/NF) Sakhr El-Matri President Ben Ali's son-in-law attended a reception hosted by the Ambassador May 26. He stayed for two hours talking with a wide variety of the guests, especially the Americans. He made a point of asking who he should know and stay in contact with at the Embassy. He was a little more reserved with the Tunisian guests, speaking with them but only briefly before moving on. His English was quite good and he clearly enjoyed using it. In general, he presented himself in a low key, genial unassuming manner even though his presence was clearly marked by the guests. ¶2. (C) El-Matri's profile has been on the rise lately. He was on the cover of the May 25 Jeune Afrique after purchasing Dar Assabah publishing house, which publishes two of Tunisia's main newspapers Assabah and Le Temps, thus adding to his media empire which already includes the Quranic Zeitouna radio. He sat directly behind President Ben Ali during the final soccer match of the Presidential Cup, and he was present when Minister of State and Presidential Advisor Ben Dhia spoke to a gathering of the ruling Democratic Constitutional Rally (RCD) in Sousse April 26 about government's plans for the upcoming Presidential elections. ¶3. (SBU) During the reception El-Matri discussed his plans for Assabah and Le Temps saying he had hired a French firm to revamp the look of the papers and that he had hired Faisal Battout, the AFP Bureau Chief in Doha, to be the new Editor of Assabah. He should arrive in Tunis around 15 June. (Comment: If Battout, who is well known to PA, is allowed to operate independently this is a good sign for the newspapers.) He also mentioned, in the context of discussing the AMIDEAST program, that he had spoken to the President about the importance of English language instruction. ¶4. (C) On a personal note: El-Matri revealed that he liked exercising but not running. He said he was trying to lose weight, and he drank Diet Coke at the reception. He also said he was starting a new exercise regime and used that as a reason why he had stopped smoking a water pipe. He went out of his way to ask if his new mansion under construction next to the Residence was blocking the sea view of any of his neighbors. El-Matri visited Canada in May during which his wife gave birth to a daughter and a new Canadian citizen. He also purchased a villa at 70 Place Belvedere, Westmont Canada, previous owner Mrs. Leslie Osmond for approximately 2.5 million Canadian dollars. ¶5. (S/NF) Comment: By accepting the Ambassador's invitation and by staying as long as he did El-Matri was showing his interest in expanding his contacts with the Embassy. Notably El-Matri also invited the Ambassador out to lunch or dinner, which the Ambassador accepted. The Embassy extended the invitation to Sakhr El-Matri in the context of an event targeted at the Ambassador's neighbors in Sidi Bou Said and with the intent to get to know him better. Godec