Tunisia names former minister to head ruling party

TUNIS, Tunisia (Reuters) -- Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali on Tuesday named former Interior Minister Ali Chaouch as secretary-general of the ruling Constitutional Democratic Rally (CDR).

Chaouch, 52, replaces Abderrahim Zouari, an official statement said, without giving a reason for the change. Chaouch was interior minister from October 1997 until mid-November 1999.

The secretary-general is in charge of the party's day-to-day management. Ben Ali, who is the party chairman, sets the CDR strategy and policy.

The statement, reported by the official TAP news agency, said Zouari, who is also a former government minister, would take an unspecified new position.

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