The prime minister of Tunisia ( ar, رئيس حكومة تونس, ra’īs ḥukūmat Tūnis) is the head of the executive branch of the

government of Tunisia The politics of Tunisia takes place within the framework of a unitary semi-presidential representative democratic republic, with a President serving as head of state, Prime Minister as head of government, a unicameral legislature and a court s ...

. The prime minister directs the executive branch along with the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

and, together with the prime minister's cabinet, is

accountable Accountability, in terms of ethics and governance, is equated with answerability, blameworthiness, liability, and the expectation of account-giving. As in an aspect of governance, it has been central to discussions related to problems in the ...

to the

Assembly of the Representatives of the People The Assembly of the People's Representatives ( ar, مجلس نواب الشعب ', french: Assemblée des représentants du peuple; ARP) is Tunisia's legislative branch of government. The unicameral Assembly replaced the Constituent Assembly and ...

, to the prime minister's

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

and, ultimately, to the electorate for the policies and actions of the executive and the legislature. The office was established by Monarch Ali II with the appointment of Rejeb Khaznadar as the inaugural officeholder in 1759. The office was revived again in the republican system by Habib Bourguiba with the appointment of

Bahi Ladgham Bahi Ladgham ( ar, الباهي الأدغم; 10 January 1913 – 13 April 1998) was a Tunisian politician who served as the Secretary of Presidency from 1957 to 1969 (de facto prime minister) and the Prime Minsiter of Tunisia from 7 November 1969 ...

in 1969. The constitution of 1959 established a presidential system where the president was both the head of state and the head of government. Bourguiba transferred some of his powers to the prime minister who had a ceremonial role. After the

Tunisian Revolution The Tunisian Revolution, also called the Jasmine Revolution, was an intensive 28-day campaign of civil resistance. It included a series of street demonstrations which took place in Tunisia, and led to the ousting of longtime president Zine El ...

in 2011, the prime minister was granted major attributions and shares the executive authority with the president. 2022 Tunisian constitutional referendum turned Tunisia into a

presidential republic A presidential system, or single executive system, is a form of government in which a head of government, typically with the title of president, leads an executive branch that is separate from the legislative branch in systems that use separation ...

, giving the president sweeping powers while largely limiting the role of the parliament. The president appoints a prime minister, the nominee of the winning party in the

parliamentary election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

, the one that holds the largest number of seats in the assembly. The prime minister-designate has a month to form a cabinet and submit to parliament for a motion of confidence. If obtained, the cabinet is sworn-in by the president. The prime minister and cabinet may be removed by

vote of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

in the Assembly of People's Representatives. 44 people have held the office since 1759. The current prime minister is

Najla Bouden Najla Bouden ( ar, نجلاء بودن), also known as Najla Bouden Romdhane (; born 29 June 1958), is a Tunisian geologist and university professor who is serving as the Prime Minister of Tunisia. She took office on 11 October 2021, making her t ...

since October 2021, as Tunisia's first female prime minister.

History

The Prime Minister during the era of the Tunisian monarchy is the head of the government who was responsible for its affairs and was appointed and dismissed by the

Bey Bey ( ota, بك, beğ, script=Arab, tr, bey, az, bəy, tk, beg, uz, бек, kz, би/бек, tt-Cyrl, бәк, translit=bäk, cjs, пий/пек, sq, beu/bej, sh, beg, fa, بیگ, beyg/, tg, бек, ar, بك, bak, gr, μπέης) is ...

. This office was created in 1759 with the beginning of the rule of Ali II and Rejeb Khaznadar was the first to take it, becoming the first Prime Minister in the history of Tunisia. With its creation, this office was the preserve of the

Mamluk Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...

s of foreign origin who were brought to Tunisia at a young age in order to serve the Royal Family and the

Makhzen Makhzen (Arabic: , Berber: ''Lmexzen'') is the governing institution in Morocco and in pre-1957 Tunisia, centered on the monarch and consisting of royal notables, top-ranking military personnel, landowners, security service bosses, civil servants ...

, such as Mustapha Khaznadar, Kheireddine Pacha and others. Mohammed Aziz Bouattour is considered the first

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

Tunisian to hold the office in 1882, and by the way, he is the longest-serving Prime Minister in the history of Tunisia with a period of nearly 25 years, and during his term, the French protectorate was established in Tunisia. Throughout this period, the Prime Minister was not partisan because he was appointed by the monarch, in addition to the absence of

until

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

, when Habib Bourguiba became the first Prime Minister to be appointed through the 1956 election. There were two exceptions related to Mohamed Chenik (1943 and 1950) and Tahar Ben Ammar in 1954 who were part of the Destour Party and were appointed by the Bey, and this caused a crisis, especially in 1943 because Muhammad VII Munsif did not coordinate with the French General Resident the appointment of the new Prime Minister, which caused a political crisis that led to his dismissal. The office was abolished after Parliament abolished the monarchy, established a republic, and appointed Prime Minister Bourguiba as the first president of the Republic of Tunisia. The office was not occupied until 1969 after the system was revised from presidential to

semi-presidential A semi-presidential republic, is a republic in which a president exists alongside a prime minister and a cabinet, with the latter two being responsible to the legislature of the state. It differs from a parliamentary republic in that it has a ...

Appointment

After the

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

, the

nominate the candidate of the party which gained the most votes to form a government within a month. The nominee must submit its program to the

and get the trust of the majority of its members before being formally appointed Prime Minister by the president. If it fails to form a government or if it does not get the confidence, the president initiates consultations with the political parties to find the best candidate. If four months after the election, the Assembly did not give confidence in the prime minister, the president can call a new election. The prime minister swears to the following oath in the presence of the president:

Constitutional powers

The powers of the prime minister are established by the current

Constitution of Tunisia The Constitution of Tunisia is the supreme law of the Tunisian Republic. The constitution is the framework for the organization of the Tunisian government and for the relationship of the federal government with the governorates, citizens, an ...

of 2014. The prime minister is primarily responsible for domestic policy, while foreign policy, defense and domestic security are handled by the president. The prime minister is responsible for: * Creating, amending and dissolving ministries (Except ministries of Defence and Foreign Affairs which require the president's approval). * Creating, amending and dissolving public institutions, public entities and administrative departments. * Issuing governmental decrees after consulting the Council of Ministers. * Shall endorse and sign, where appropriate, regulatory orders issued by ministers. * Request the parliament to give vote of confidence to their government. The prime minister, together with the president, represent Tunisia at home and abroad. In the event the president is temporarily unable to carry out his duties, the prime minister serves as Acting President for a maximum of 60 days. If the disability is permanent or the result of the president's resignation or death, the

president of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People The speaker of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People is the presiding officer of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People, the unicameral legislature of Tunisia. From 1956 to 1959, the Tunisian legislature was called the Nati ...

becomes interim president for a period of 45 to 90 days pending new elections.

List

Living former prime ministers

As of , there are nine living former Tunisian prime ministers. The most recent to die was Hamed Karoui (1989–99), on 27 March 2020.

Republic Timeline

Footnotes

External links

World Statesmen - Tunisia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prime Minister Of Tunisia Tunisia, Prime Minister of

Prime Ministers A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is no ...

1969 establishments in Tunisia