ALGIERS: Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika reshuffled the government on Monday, naming Ahmed Ouyahia to replace Abdelaziz Belkhadem as prime minister, official news agency APS reported.

Ouyahia, head of the pro-business RND (National Rally for Democracy) party, takes over for a third time as prime minister of the oil and gas exporting north African country.

Belkhadem was named as minister of state in the reshuffle, which also sees new faces at the ministries of transport, health and agriculture, APS said, citing a statement from the president’s office.

It did not mention any change at the key energy and mines ministry, whose incumbent Chakib Khelil is currently Opec president.

Ouyahia, formerly prime minister from 1995 to 1999 and from 2003 to 2006, is a strong supporter of Bouteflika, who has sent him on several trips abroad as his personal representative in recent months.

Belkhadem, who replaced Ouyahia in a reshuffle in 2006, heads Algeria’s National Liberation Front (FLN), the country’s dominant, conservative political party born out of the struggle for independence from France. —Reuters