Othman Jerandi, Tunisia’s Foreign Minister, has been fired by President Kais Saied.
Mr. Jerandi was replaced by Nabil Ammar, Tunisia’s ambassador to the European Union. He did not provide an explanation for Mr. Jerandi’s dismissal.
Mr. Jerandi, a career diplomat, was appointed foreign minister by Mr. Saied in September 2020.
He is the fourth minister to resign this year, after the trade, agriculture, and education ministers were all replaced.
President #Kais_Saied relieves Othman Jerandi from his duties as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Migration and Tunisians Abroad, and appoints Nabil Ammar as new Foreign Affairs Minister. #TnPR
— Tunisian Presidency – الرئاسة التونسية (@TnPresidency) February 7, 2023
President Saied implemented a series of measures in 2021 to strengthen the presidency’s power at the expense of parliament and the judiciary.
Opposition parties boycotted the 2022 parliamentary elections, accusing the president of staging a coup after shutting down parliament in 2021 and conferring almost unlimited executive powers on himself.
Last month, approximately 11% of Tunisians voted in a second round of parliamentary elections.
The political and economic crisis has worsened, with Tunisians increasingly dissatisfied with the state of the economy and Mr. Saied’s seizure of near-total power.
