Tunisian President Kais Saied has commissioned Najla Bouden to form the country’s new government as soon as possible, the Tunisian presidency announced in a statement on Wednesday.
She is the first woman to hold the position in Tunisia and the Arab world.
On 25 July, Saied dismissed Prime Minister Hisham Al-Mashishi and announced a number of exceptional measures which included freezing the Parliament for 30 days and lifting the immunity of MPs.
On 23 August, he extended the parliament’s suspension and lifted its members’ immunity until further notice.
Boudin, born in 1958, is a professor at the National School of Engineers in Tunis, specializing in geology. She was appointed Director-General in charge of Quality at the Ministry of Higher Education in 2011. She also held the position of Head of the Purpose Action Unit in the same ministry and was assigned a task in the office of the former Minister of Higher Education, Shehab Boden, in 2015.
