Tunisian President Kais Saied has fired the country’s Foreign Minister Othman Jerandi, the presidency has announced.
The president appointed Nabil Ammar, Tunisia’s ambassador to the European Union, to replace Mr Jerandi. He did not give a reason for Mr Jerandi’s dismissal.
Mr Jerandi is the fourth minister to lose his position this year, with the trade, agriculture and education ministers having already been replaced.
President Saied carried out a series of measures in 2021 to enhance the power of the presidency at the expense of parliament and the judiciary.
Opposition parties boycotted the 2022 parliamentary elections, accusing the president of staging a coup after shutting parliament in 2021 and giving himself almost unlimited executive powers.
Just about 11% of Tunisians turned out for a second round of parliamentary voting last month.
There has been a deepening political and economic crisis, amid protests by Tunisians increasingly frustrated with the state of the economy and against Mr Saied’s seizure of near total power.
رئيس الجمهورية #قيس_سعيّد يقرّر إنهاء مهام السيد عثمان الجرندي، وزير الشؤون الخارجية والهجرة والتونسيين بالخارج، وتعيين السيد نبيل عمّار، وزيرا للشؤون الخارجية والهجرة والتونسيين بالخارج. #TnPR pic.twitter.com/l3ASMie2vh
— Tunisian Presidency – الرئاسة التونسية (@TnPresidency) February 7, 2023