Tunisian President Kais Saied on Tuesday sacked Najla Bouden as prime minister without explanation and replaced her with former central bank executive Ahmed Hachani, whom he tasked with overcoming the “colossal challenges” facing the cash-strapped north African country.
No official explanation was given for Bouden’s dismissal, but several local media firms highlighted Saied’s displeasure over a number of shortages, particularly of bread in state-subsidized bakeries.
Saied “terminated the functions” of Bouden, who had been the first woman to head a government in Tunisia, a press release and video released by the presidency shortly before midnight said.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Saied immediately appointed in her place Hachani, who until then worked at the Tunisian central bank and studied law at the University of Tunis, where Saied taught.
The new head of government, a figure unknown to the general public, was sworn in before the president, the presidency video said.
At the end of the ceremony, Saied wished him “good luck in this responsibility.”
The president said that “there are colossal challenges that we must overcome with a solid and strong will, in order to protect our homeland, our state and social peace.”
Several meetings have taken place within the government, and between the president and ministers in the past few days over the problem of shortages of subsidized bread in several regions.
Saied, who recently said “bread is a red line for Tunisians,” fears a repeat of the bread riots that left 150 people dead in 1984 under Habib Bourguiba, the father of Tunisian independence, media reports said.
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