Tunisia Becomes First Arab State to Appoint Female Head of Gov’t

Tunisia’s president, Kais Saied, has named the country’s first female prime minister – the first female head of government in an Arab country. Saied’s announcement on Wednesday of Najla Bouden Romdhane as the country’s new prime minister comes two months after he fired the government and suspended parliament, and assumed executive authority in a move his critics have called a coup. Last week he announced that he would rule by decree, which allows him to run the country while suspending part of the constitution.

Romdhane, 63, a university engineer who has worked with the World Bank, is relatively unknown and has no real government experience. Saied has called for her to propose a government as soon as possible, including calling on her to propose a new cabinet “in the coming hours or days.”

He added that his nomination of a woman to the position of prime minister is “an honor for Tunisia and an homage to Tunisian women.”