Algeria finance minister named new premier

Algeria finance minister named new premier

ALGIERS: Algerian Finance Minister Aimene Benabderrahmane was named prime minister yesterday, the presidency said, following legislative elections earlier this month and as the country seeks to curb a deep socio-economic crisis. "Aimene Benabderrahmane has been appointed prime minister and charged with carrying on consultations with political parties and civil society to form a government as soon as possible,“ the presidency said in a statement.

Benabderrahmane, 60, replaces Abdelaziz Djerad, who had held the post since late 2019 and presented his government's resignation last week, following early parliamentary elections held on June 12. Djerad's government had been unable to redress the country's economic crisis.

Africa's fourth-largest economy is heavily dependent on oil revenues, which have slumped in the face of the global economic slowdown. Unemployment stands at more than 12 percent, according to World Bank figures. President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who had previously expressed dissatisfaction with Djerad and his cabinet, thanked him for leading the government "during difficult conditions“, particularly the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Also yesterday, Algeria's main Islamist party the Movement of Society for Peace (MSP), which came third in the vote with 65 seats in the 407-seat legislature, said it would not be part of a new government. The country's incumbent National Liberation