[1] As a young man he participated actively in the Tunisian independence struggle, notably as the producer of the clandestine newspaper "El Hilal".

On 2 February 1961 he took part in the Constitutional Congress in Tunisia's newly established Chamber of Commerce: the 24 member steering committee elected Ben Ammar as their first president.

Subsequently he occupied a succession of senior positions in public life: he was head of the youth wing of the Socialist Destourian Party,[2] and was governor of the Tunis governate (province) from July 1965 till September 1969.

[12] Sources close to the newspaper claimed that the new President was enraged by the publication of an article by Oum Zied entitled "The drift towards authoritarianism of the Ben Ali régime,"[12][13] banned the edition containing the article and launched a campaign of intimidation against Ben Ammar, which allegedly forced him to put an end to the publication.

Additionally, at this time he was a co-founder with the support of Ben Ali of "The Arab Institute of Human Rights", which was based in Tunis[5] and of which he became the first president.

[15] The President also appointed him to the Higher Committee on Human Rights and Fundamental Liberties, and he has served on the board of the Association for the Prevention of Torture.

His funeral, which took place at Jellaz Cemetery on the edge of Tunis, was attended by an impressive range of leading establishment and opposition officials, national and city dignitaries, together with fellow human rights advocates.