Summary:

On 7 February 2023, President Kais Saied dismissed Foreign Minister Othman Jerandi without explanation. Jerandi had served in the role since 2020, managing to keep his role throughout 2021 and 2022, during which the President closed Parliament and fired a number of other ministers. Jerandi has been replaced by former Ambassador to the European Union Nabil Ammar. Ammar is a career diplomat who has represented Tunisia in numerous diplomatic posts, including Oslo, Vienna, Rome, and London.

Outlook:  

Further dismissals of key ministers by Saied are likely an indication of the growing tension within the government over how Tunisia will navigate the ongoing political and economic crises it faces. With Tunisia increasingly looking to external financing to make up its large budget deficit, diplomatic relations have only grown more central to any potential plans for a bailout, whether from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or elsewhere. While dismissals of ministers have felt relatively common since Parliament was closed in 2021, they point to the broader tension over the country’s next steps.

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