Tunisia’s new premier is youngest since independence
Forty-year-old Youssef Chahed sworn in to office
TUNIS // Youssef Chahed, Tunisia’s new prime minister, and members of his cabinet were sworn into office yesterday after approval from parliament.
The prime minister and his 26 ministers swore to “work devotedly for the good of Tunisia” and to “respect its constitution and laws”, the presidency said.
Forty-year-old Mr Chahed is the country’s youngest prime minister since independence from France in 1956.
He is also the seventh premier since the 2011 uprising that toppled Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. On Friday, parliament approved the cabinet line-up, with 168 of the 195 politicians who attended the session voting in favour, 22 against and five abstaining.
The new cabinet will take office tomorrow after a handover ceremony from former premier Habib Essid. Mr Chahed was appointed by president Beji Caid Sebsi this month after MPs passed a vote of no confidence in Mr Essid’s government after just 18 months in office. The new prime minister is a member of the president’s Nidaa Tounes party and a liberal who was local affairs minister before his nomination.
He and his cabinet will have to tackle pressing economic and security challenges.
While Tunisia is considered a rare success story of the Arab Spring, the authorities have failed to resolve the issues of poverty, unemployment, regional disparities and corruption that preceded Mr Ben Ali’s fall.
In January, the North African country had its worst social unrest since the 2011 uprising.
It was also unsettled by a wave of extremist attacks, including two that killed dozens of tourists last year.
Many Tunisians welcomed the nomination of a comparatively young premier – Mr Sebsi is 89 years old and Mr Essid is 67.