President of Tunisia Approves New Government

The newly-appointed ministers will be sworn in amid mass protests gripping the country over the past several months, with thousands of people accusing President Saied of usurping power in democratic Tunisia.

In a statement released on 11 October, Tunisian President Kais Saied announced he had approved a new government selected by Prime Minister Najla Bouden.

A banker, Samir Said, has been appointed as economy and planning minister, and Taoufic Charfeddine will be sworn in as the country's interior minister. Foreign Minister Othman Jerandi will keep the position in the new government.

Following mass anti-government protests that erupted in the Tunisian capital of Tunis on 25 July, Saied had dismissed Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi, suspended the parliament for 30 days, and frozen the legal immunity of lawmakers. The president has since temporarily fully assumed executive powers. Ennahdha, the largest political party in the Tunisian Parliament, headed by Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi, said Saied's move was unconstitutional and amounted to a coup.

In the wake of these events, US Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer and Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Joey Hood met with the Tunisian president and urged him to promptly appoint a prime minister designate.

On 29 September, Saied named Najla Bouden Romdhane as prime minister and asked her to quickly form a government. The appointment came amid mass protests, with thousands of activists taking to the streets either supporting or protesting against Saied, who was accused of seizing almost total power in the country in breach of the Tunisian Constitution.