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Tunisia names old regime veteran to form new government

FILE - This May 16, 2011 file photo shows Habib Essi in Tunis. Tunisia’s largest political party has chosen Monday, Jan.5, 2015 Essi, an official of the old regime and a former interior minister, as its candidate for prime minister to form a coalition to run the country. Essid’s Nida Tunis Party won the most seats in parliament in October’s elections but not a majority. (AP Photo/Hassene Dridi, File)
FILE - This May 16, 2011 file photo shows Habib Essi in Tunis. Tunisia’s largest political party has chosen Monday, Jan.5, 2015 Essi, an official of the old regime and a former interior minister, as its candidate for prime minister to form a coalition to run the country. Essid’s Nida Tunis Party won the most seats in parliament in October’s elections but not a majority. (AP Photo/Hassene Dridi, File) FILE - This May 16, 2011 file photo shows Habib Essi in Tunis. Tunisia’s largest political party has chosen Monday, Jan.5, 2015 Essi, an official of the old regime and a former interior minister, as its candidate for prime minister to form a coalition to run the country. Essid’s Nida Tunis Party won the most seats in parliament in October’s elections but not a majority. (AP Photo/Hassene Dridi, File)

By Associated Press 2 min read

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) – Tunisia’s largest political party on Monday chose an ex-interior minister with a long history with the old regime as its candidate for prime minister.

Habib Essid, 65, who has a month to form a coalition and name a Cabinet, occupied several posts under former dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, including in the Interior Ministry, which manages the police.

After the revolution that overthrew Ben Ali in 2011, he was the interior minister in one of the transitional governments.

Tunisia completed its political transition with a string of elections in the final months of 2014, with the most votes going to Nida Tunis, a party that includes many members of the old regime and has promised stability after a transition marked by unrest.

President Beji Caid Essebsi, who formed the party, was inaugurated last week and is another veteran of the pre-revolutionary system. He received Essid Monday and tasked him with forming a new government.