Ahmed Ouyahia named as new Algerian prime minister

Algeria’s presidency has named Ahmed Ouyahia as new prime minister, replacing Abdelmadjid Tebboune after just three months on the job, the president’s office said on Tuesday.

Ouyahia will likely be seen as a steadying influence as Algeria tries to carry out economic adjustments to cope with a fall in oil prices that has slashed state revenues.

The statement from President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s office gave no reason for the change.

Tebboune was sacked on Tuesday, less than three months after he was appointed, the presidency said in a statement.

Tebboune was appointed on May 25. His time in office was dominated by his conflict with businessmen, especially after his defence of “the separation between money and the state.”

Ouyahia, 65, has served three terms as prime minister and most recently was Bouteflika’s chief of staff.

He is also leader of the National Rally for Democracy (RND), a party close to the presidency that increased its number of seats in May’s parliamentary election.

Moves to reduce subsidies and imports and diversify Algeria’s oil-dependent economy have created political divisions over how far to push reforms.

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The North African state’s political system is often opaque, and Bouteflika, 80, has rarely been seen in public since suffering a stroke in 2013.

Political jostling around him has intensified as his health has waned, fuelling questions about the shape of any transition if he steps down before his term ends in 2019.

In the run up to Tebboune’s dismissal, there was media speculation that he had fallen out of favour because of differences with Ali Haddad, a prominent businessman close to the presidency.

Tebboune was also perceived to be encroaching on foreign policy, seen as a preserve of the presidency, after he held a meeting with French Prime Minister, Edouard Philippe earlier this month, said one senior source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.