Tunisian leader names new PM with little experience at crisis moment

Tunisia's President Kais Saied meets with newly appointed Prime Minister Najla Bouden Romdhane, in Tunis, Tunisia September 29, 2021. Tunisian Presidency/Handout via REUTERS

TUNIS (Reuters) -President Kais Saied named a geologist with little government experience as Tunisia's first woman prime minister on Wednesday amid a crisis following his seizure of powers and with public finances close to breaking point.

He asked Najla Bouden Romdhane, a little-known professor of geophysics who implemented World Bank projects at the education ministry, to form a government as quickly as possible. The move prompted a surge in Tunisian bond prices.