By Morgan Hekking<\/p>\n
Rabat \u2013 Algerian President Abdelmajid Tebboune rejected on Saturday the appointment of Samir Chaabna as minister delegate to the prime minister responsible for Algerians abroad after the appointee refused to give up his dual French-Algerian nationality.<\/p>\n
The journalist-turned-politician is a deputy for France\u2019s Zone-2 Marseille and a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee at the lower house of the Algerian Parliament, known as the People\u2019s National Assembly (APN).<\/p>\n
Chaabna was appointed to the minister delegate role on June 23 during Tebboune\u2019s government reshuffle, which saw the restructuring of the ministries of finance, education, agriculture, transport, and energy.<\/p>\n
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According to a law enacted on January 10, 2017, dual citizens must declare and renounce their foreign nationality before they can hold a high-ranking position in the government, such as that of minister or minister delegate.<\/p>\n
A June 27 statement from the prime minister\u2019s office says \u201cChaabna accepted the post without declaring that he holds foreign nationality.\u201d After being asked to comply with the provisions of the 2017 law, he refused to renounce his French citizenship, appearing to regard his foreign residence as more valuable than service to his country of origin.<\/p>\n
\u201cFaced with his refusal and by decision of the President of the Republic, Mr. Abdelmadjid Tebboune, his appointment (\u2026) was canceled and therefore Mr. Samir Chaabna is no longer part of the government,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n