Algerian president appoints new PM in key cabinet reshuffle

ALGIERS, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika on Monday conducted a key cabinet reshuffle by appointing Noureddine Bedoui as new Prime Minister and Ramtane Lamamra as deputy Prime Minister, APS news agency reported.

Bedoui replaces Ahmed Ouyahia who resigned earlier in the day, APS said.

Bouteflika held talks with Bedoui and Lamamra separately after the appointments, it added.

Bedoui, who occupied the post of interior minister, is tasked with the mission of forming a new cabinet.

Lamamra, 66, who served as foreign minister between 2013 and 2017, was appointed in February as state minister, the personal diplomatic adviser of Bouteflika.

The cabinet reshuffle came as part of changes that Bouteflika announced on Monday, including dropping his decision to seek a fifth presidential term, postponing presidential election and organizing a inclusive national conference to draft a new constitution to establish a new political system for the North African nation.

According to Bouteflika, all these decisions have been taken in response to the massive protest in recent weeks.

The 82-year-old Bouteflika returned home on Sunday after two weeks' stay in Geneva for medical checks.

He suffered a stroke in 2013, and was re-elected in 2014 for a fourth term until 2019.