She has the difficult task of forming a government two months after the president fired his previous cabinet
For the first time in Tunisian history, a woman has been appointed prime minister. President Kais Sayed has tasked Najla Buden Romdan with forming a government two months after he fired his previous cabinet, Reuters reported.
Thus, she became the first woman state leader in the Arab world.
A man of science, 63-year-old Romdan is little known to the general public. She is a professor of geology at the National School of Engineers. According to the Tunisian News Agency, she has worked at the Ministry of Education on projects with the World Bank.
Elected in 2019, Sayed has come under domestic and international pressure to appoint a government after firing the prime minister in July, suspending parliament and taking over the executive branch with what his opponents call a “coup”.
The president’s office released a video in which Syed received Ramadan in his office and instructed her to form a new government to present to him “in the next few hours or days.”
“The new government must fight corruption and respond to the demands of Tunisians in all areas, including health, transport and education,” he added.
However, Romdan’s prime ministerial powers have been significantly curtailed by the “emergency measures” in force since September 22nd, by which the president suspended important texts of the Constitution.
Women rarely hold senior political positions in Arab countries, but some time ago Sayed appointed Nadia Akacha as his adviser, Reuters noted. Last week, the president suspended most of the constitution, saying he could rule with decrees during the “emergency period” without a definite end, questioning democratic achievements since Tunisia’s 2011 revolution, which sparked the Arab Spring.
Najla Buden Romdan is likely to have less direct power than previous prime ministers, after Sayed said last week that the government would be accountable to the president during the emergency.
