Algerian PM quits
2006-05-24 20:13
Algiers - Algeria's prime minister, Ahmed Ouyahia, has resigned and been replaced as head of government by state minister Abdelaziz Belkhadem, the president's office said on Wednesday.
Belkhadem, a 61-year-old Islamic conservative, is general secretary of the Front for National Liberation (FLN), which enjoyed one-party rule between independence from France in 1962 and the late 1980s.
Belkhadem has also acted as President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's personal representative.
Ouyahia had submitted his letter of resignation during a meeting with Bouteflika, Algerian news agency APS said.
After the meeting, Ouyahia told reporters he had thanked Bouteflika "for the confidence and total support" he had shown him during his three years at the government helm.
Ouyahia, leader of the National Rally for Democracy (RND), has been prime minister twice.
He served under President Liamine Zeroual from 1995-99 and under Bouteflika from 2003-06.