El Materi was born on 20 November 1934, in
Tunis to a wealthy Tunisian bourgeoisie family of
Turkish descent; his ancestor, Mohamed Stankouli, was born on the island of
Kos, and was a Turkish officer who settled in Tunis at the end of the seventeenth century to defend Turkish interests. In 1930, his mother, Nefissa Ben Cheikh Ahmed (1911-1996), married his father, Hafiz El Materi (1890-1975), who was a young widower with three children (Fatma, Khiareddine, and Slim). Nefissa Hafiz gave four children: Hayet (born 1931), Tahar (born 1932), Moncef (born in 1934) and Sinda (born in 1947). His paternal uncle,
Mahmoud El Materi, was a co-founder of
Neo-Destour. Subject to an international arrest warrant on August 26, 2011, he was sentenced in absentia on February 7, 2012, to eight years in prison and a fine of 31 million dinars for having profited from the sale of declassified land after being ceded by the state. ==Personal life==