Tunisian President Kais Saied has dismissed Prime Minister Kamel Madouri, according to an overnight statement from his office on Thursday, March 20, 2025, as the country struggles with deep economic woes.
Kamel Madouri, a technocrat appointed only last August during a major cabinet reshuffle, has been replaced by Sarra Zaafrani Zenzri, formerly the minister of public works, an official announcement confirmed.
Saied has recently voiced dissatisfaction with his government’s performance.
Tunisia, heavily indebted and facing financial difficulties, is grappling with sluggish growth, high unemployment, and sporadic shortages of basic goods such as milk, sugar, and flour.
Since assuming full powers in 2021, Saied has repeatedly reshuffled his cabinet.
In August 2024, he dismissed 19 ministers alongside appointing Kamel Madouri, citing “the supreme interest of the state” and “national security.”
In February, he similarly fired finance minister Sihem Boughdiri Nemsia overnight, replacing her with magistrate Michket Slama Khaldi.
Tunisia, the only democracy to emerge from the Arab Spring, has seen growing political tensions, with dozens of opposition figures, businessmen, and media personalities jailed over the past two years.
Critics accuse Saied of rolling back democratic freedoms, while his supporters credit him with tackling corruption and state inefficiency.
Despite winning re-election in October 2024 with over 90% of the vote, Saied faced a low voter turnout of under 30%.
Meanwhile, the country’s economic prospects remain bleak, with the IMF projecting just 1.6% growth for 2025 and national debt hovering at around 80% of GDP—up from 67% when Saied took office in 2019.
