1of6New acting Tunisian Interior Minister Ridha Gharsallaoui , left, and Tunisian President Kais Saiedis poses after a sworn in ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Carthage, outside Tunis, Tunisia, Thursday, July 29, 2021. Tunisian President Kais Saied on Thursday appointed Ridha Gharsallaoui, a former national security adviser to the presidency, to run the Interior Ministry. (Slim Abid/Tunisian Presidency via AP)Slim Abid/APShow MoreShow Less2of6Ridha Gharsallaoui, right, is sworn in as new acting Tunisian Interior Minister while Tunisian President Kais Saied looks on during a ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Carthage, outside Tunis, Tunisia, Thursday, July 29, 2021. Tunisian President Kais Saied on Thursday appointed Ridha Gharsallaoui, a former national security adviser to the presidency, to run the Interior Ministry. (Slim Abid/Tunisian Presidency via AP)Slim Abid/APShow MoreShow Less3of64of6Ridha Gharsallaoui is sworn in as new acting Tunisian Interior Minister at the Presidential Palace in Carthage, outside Tunis, Tunisia, Thursday, July 29, 2021. Tunisian President Kais Saied on Thursday appointed Ridha Gharsallaoui, a former national security adviser to the presidency, to run the Interior Ministry. (Slim Abid/Tunisian Presidency via AP)Slim Abid/APShow MoreShow Less5of6New acting Tunisian Interior Minister Ridha Gharsallaoui , left, talks with Tunisian President Kais Saiedis after a sworn in ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Carthage, outside Tunis, Tunisia, Thursday, July 29, 2021. Tunisian President Kais Saied on Thursday appointed Ridha Gharsallaoui, a former national security adviser to the presidency, to run the Interior Ministry. (Slim Abid/Tunisian Presidency via AP)Slim Abid/APShow MoreShow Less6of6
TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Tunisia's president has named a new interior minister, in his first major appointment since he froze parliament and seized executive powers earlier this week amid protests and an economic crisis.
President Kais Saied named Ridha Gharsallaoui, a former national security adviser to the presidency, to the post on Thursday night. The Interior Ministry oversees domestic security, including policing.
Saied's decision Sunday to assume exceptional powers raised concerns about Tunisia's young democracy. He said the move was necessary to save the country amid public anger at the government over joblessness, rising prices and one of Africa's worst coronavirus outbreaks.
His critics - notably the Islamist party Ennahdha, which has dominated Tunisian legislative elections since the 2011 revolution - accused him of staging a coup.
