Kaïs Saïed
Kaïs Saïed قيس سعيّد | |
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![]() Saïed in 2019 | |
6th President of Tunisia | |
Assumed office October 23, 2019 | |
Prime Minister | Youssef Chahed Elyes Fakhfakh Hichem Mechichi Najla Bouden Romdhane Ahmed Hachani Kamel Madouri |
Preceded by | Mohamed Ennaceur (acting) |
Personal details | |
Born | Béni Khiar, Nabeul, Tunisia | 22 February 1958
Political party | Independent |
Kaïs Saïed (Arabic: قيس سعيد) (born 22 February 1958) is a Tunisian jurist, politician and professor of constitutional law. Saïed is the 6th and current President of Tunisia since October 2019. He successfully ran as an Independent candidate for President in the 2019 election.[1]
Early life
[change | change source]Saïed is a Professor at the Université de Tunis. He was the Secretary-General of the Tunisian Association of Constitutional Law between 1990 and 1995 and has been the vice president of the organization since 1995.
Presidency
[change | change source]Saïed received 620,711 votes in the first round of the 2019 election, coming in first place and moved on to face businessman Nabil Karoui in the second round.[2] He defeated Karoui in the October run-off election winning 72.7% of the vote.[3]
The regime being semi-presidential, Kaïs Saïd has a week after his inauguration to charge the party that came first in the legislative elections to form a government. The latter then has one month to obtain the confidence of the Assembly of People's Representatives.
From a practical point of view, he refuses to lodge in the presidential palace of Carthage, preferring his villa to Mnihla, located in the governorate of Ariana.
On October 30, he appointed diplomat Tarek Bettaïeb as head of the presidential cabinet, General Mohamed Salah Hamdi as national security advisor, while Tarek Hannachi led the protocol. Abderraouf Bettaïeb is minister-advisor to the President of the Republic, Rachida Ennaifer in charge of communication, while Nadia Akacha is responsible for legal affairs.
On November 15, 2019, he appointed Habib Jemli, Ennahdha's candidate, for the post of head of government and charged him with forming a government.
On 25 July 2021, Saied fired Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi and froze the Assembly of Representatives, causing a political crisis in the country.[4] In September 2021, he picked Najla Bouden Romdhane to become the next prime minister.[5]
References
[change | change source]- ↑ "Présidentielle 2019 : Biographie de Kais Saied, vainqueur du premier tour". Webdo (in French). 16 September 2019. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
- ↑ "Tunisia elections: 'Robocop' and 'Berlusconi' head to second round". Middle East Eye. Archived from the original on 25 September 2019. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
- ↑ "In a blow to its political elites, a modest law professor is set to become Tunisia's next president". The Washington Post. 14 October 2019.
- ↑ Amara, Tarek; Mcdowall, Angus (26 July 2021). "Tunisian democracy in crisis after president ousts government". Reuters. Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
- ↑ "Tunisia's president names Bouden first woman PM, asks her to form govt". France 24. 2021-09-29. Retrieved 2021-09-29.
Other websites
[change | change source]- Camille Lafrance (19 April 2019). "Présidentielle en Tunisie : dix choses à savoir sur Kaïs Saïed, deuxième dans les sondages". jeuneafrique.com (in French). Retrieved 24 June 2019.