Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika fired Prime Minister Ali Benflis on Monday as part of a Cabinet shake-up in the North African country.
Bouteflika has named Ahmed Ouyahia -- the previous prime minister and a close ally of the president -- as Benflis' replacement, The Associated Press reported. Details of other Cabinet changes were not immediately available.
Benflis, 58, has been prime minister since August 2000. He had been considered a potential challenger to Bouteflika in presidential elections in April 2004.
Benflis is the leader of Algeria's largest political party, the National Liberation Front (FLN).
The FLN more than tripled its number of seats in the 389-seat parliament, moving from 64 to 199 seats, in elections last year.
Algeria has attracted international attention in recent weeks due to the abduction of 31 European tourists in the Sahara Desert.
On Monday, Algeria's state radio said the hostages would soon be released. But the government denied reports that Tourism Minister Lakhdar Dorbano was holding talks to secure the release of the tourists.
The tourists -- mainly from Germany and Austria -- disappeared in late February and early March while traveling in separate groups in the Sahara desert without guides.