Tunisian Prime Minister Najla Bouden Romdhane and her cabinet took the oath at a ceremony held at the Presidency.
25 ministers, nine of whom are women, were named in the cabinet led by Najla Bouden, the new prime minister of Tunisia. The most important files awaiting the cabinet are the economic and political crisis in the country.
Speaking at the ceremony, Bouden said, “We will restore trust in the state. We will work to facilitate the living conditions of the citizens and to revive the economy.”
Noting that citizens can gain this trust when they feel that they have all their rights, Bouden added, “We will strive to regain the trust of the parties in Tunisia, we can achieve this by ensuring justice by applying the laws equally to everyone, especially in the fight against corruption.”
In the cabinet, where four ministers from the former government remained, the Ministry of Economy and Planning, which came to the fore due to the economic crisis in the country, was entrusted to Samir Saied. Saied, who studied engineering in France, worked as a senior manager in various banks for about 30 years.
Ali Mrabet was appointed to the Ministry of Health, which came to the fore due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Mrabet, who studied medicine in Tunisia and France and is the head of the vaccine campaign against COVID-19 in the country, is an academic like Bouden.
Othman Jerandi, who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the previous government, was among the names that retained his seat in the new cabinet. Jerandi, who also served as an advisor to President Kais Saied, served as Tunisia’s Permanent Representative to the UN in 2011-2012.
President Saied issued new decrees expanding his powers on September 22, after he suspended the Parliament’s work on July 25 and dismissed former prime minister Hichem Mechichi, which many have called “a coup against the constitution.”
On September 29, nearly two months after Saied dismissed the prime minister, female academic Najla Bouden Romdhane was tasked with forming the government.
