Sara Zaafarani

Sara Zaafarani
سارة زعفراني
Prime Minister of Tunisia
Assumed office
21 March 2025
PresidentKais Saied
Preceded byKamel Madouri
Minister of Public Works and Housing
In office
11 October 2021 – 21 March 2025
Prime MinisterNajla Bouden
Ahmed Hachani
Kamel Maddouri
Preceded byKamel Doukh
Succeeded bySalah Zouari
Personal details
Born (1963-01-26) 26 January 1963
Tunis, Tunisia
Alma materNational Engineering School of Tunis
Leibniz University Hannover

Sara Zaafarani Zenzari (Arabic: سارة زعفراني زنزري, romanizedSāra Zaʿfarānī Zanzarī; born 26 January 1963) is a Tunisian engineer and politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Tunisia since 2025. Prior to her tenure as prime minister she was Minister of Public Works and Housing.

Early life and education

Sara Zaafarani Zenzari was born in Tunis, Tunisia, on 26 January, 1963. She graduated from the National Engineering School of Tunis with a civil engineering degree and from Leibniz University Hannover with a master's degree in geotechnical engineering.[1]

Career

Zaafarani has held positions in the Ministry of Equipment and Housing since the 1980s. She was a senior engineer from 1989 to 1992, and then head of the Special Facilities Department from 1992 to 1997. In 2009, she managed a project monitoring a road linking Sfax and Gabès and road linkages in other regions of Tunisia. She was a member of the board of directors of the Tunisian Highway Company and port of Enfidha.[1]

The cabinets of Najla Bouden, Ahmed Hachani, and Kamel Madouri included Zaafarani as Minister of Equipment and Housing in 2021.[1] She was also the acting Minister of Transportation from 12 March to 25 August 2024, after Rabie Majidi was dismissed by President Kais Saied.[2] Saied selected her to replace Madouri as prime minister on 21 March 2025.[1] She was the third prime minister Tunisia had within two years[3] and is the second woman to hold the position of prime minister in Tunisian history.[1]

Personal life

Zenzari is married and is the mother of three children. She is able to speak Arabic, French, English, and German.[1]

References

Works cited

  • "تونس.. من هي سارة الزعفراني الزنزريثاني رئيسة وزراء في تاريخ البلاد؟". Agenzia Nova. 21 March 2025. Archived from the original on 22 June 2025.
  • "سارة الزنزري مهندسة ترأس الحكومة التونسية". Al Jazeera Arabic. 21 March 2025. Archived from the original on 22 June 2025.
  • Amara, Tarek; Choukeir, And (21 March 2025). "Tunisian president sacks prime minister amid economic and migration crisis". Reuters. Archived from the original on 22 June 2025.