Ms Bouden - the country's first ever female prime minister - was hand-picked by President Saied to lead the government after he removed her predecessor two years ago and took control of almost all state powers.

Her late-night dismissal was followed by the immediate swearing-in of another political unknown, Ahmed Hachani, who previously worked at the Tunisian central bank.

The move comes during a deepening economic and social crisis that has seen a shortage of many key commodities.

Ms Bouden's government had supported an economic reform programme geared towards securing a $2bn (£1.6bn) IMF bailout.