RESHUFFLE OF GOVERNORS

C O N F I D E N T I A L TUNIS 001776 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/MAG (MHARRIS) E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/12/2016 TAGS: PGOV PREL TS SUBJECT: RESHUFFLE OF GOVERNORS REF: TUNIS 1402 Classified By: Ambassador William Hudson, for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (U) In a routine reshuffle announced in all daily newspapers on July 10, six governors moved from one governorate to another, two were appointed for the first time, and one, Ali Ksiki, was "called to other (unspecified) duties." Governorship changes were as follows: Name Former Region Current Ali Ksiki Sfax None Kamel Somai Le Kef Sfax Taieb Ragoubi Kebili Sousse* Faiez Ayed Ariana Ben Arous Adbeljalil Zaddam Ben Arous Ariana Brahim Briki Gabes Kebili Kamel Labbassi Mahdia Le Kef Taieb Aloui None Mahdia Abdelkrim Mesbah None Gabes NOTE: The previous Governor of Sousse, Abderrahman Limam, was appointed Director General of the National Guard on June 5, after former Director General of the National Guard, Abdessatar Bennour replaced Mohamed Ali Ganzoui as MOI Secretary of State for National Security (reftel). END NOTE. SIPDIS ¶2. (C) Comment: There are no surprises in the recent shift in governors, as President Ben Ali often changes high level positions in the summer months. (This is the 60th presidential reshuffle of government positions since Ben Ali took office in 1987). First-time governors Aloui and Mesbah have long histories of ruling RCD party support and both previously served as career officials in the Interior Ministry, most recently as Secretary Generals of Governorates. Although GOT decision-making is highly centralized, governors are viewed as the President's local representatives, and thus do wield some regional power. The positions, especially those in key areas such as Sousse and Sfax, are often seen as important political stepping stones. End Comment. HUDSON