Ahmed Ben Bella (أحمد بن بلّة)

On December 25th, 1918*, Ahmed Ben Bella was born into French-controlled Algeria, in the town of Marnia (1). As a teenager, he entered the military and quickly gained notoriety (1 ; 2). Throughout World War II, Ben Bella fought with the French Allied Forces, earning him five awards from General De Gaulle (2).

Following the War and an anti-colonial protest-turned-bloodbath in Sétif, Algeria, Ben Bella returned to Algeria and began working towards Algerian Independence with the “Movement for the Triumph of Democratic Liberties” (2) and the National Liberation Front (FLN) (1). Despite the criminalization of these movements, Ben Bella continued to resist and was subsequently imprisoned. He managed to escape and found refuge in Cairo, where he rose to prominence in the FLN (1). Ben Bella supported the FLN-led uprisings against the French, beginning in 1954, until he was captured and taken to France in 1956 (1 ; 2).

In 1962, Algeria officially won its Independence and Ben Bella was able to return. He served as an interim Prime Minister (1) and was then elected Algeria’s first President in 1963 (1 ; 2). As President, Ben Bella worked to create a sense of Algerian nationalism (3), underscoring Arab and Muslim identities in the Algiers Charter (4). Additionally, he expanded the scope of the FLN by absorbing the General Union of Algerian Workers (UGTA) (3) and criminalizing all other political parties (3). Ben Bella’s efforts to grow the FLN paved the way for a future authoritarian regime in Algeria. Furthermore, as Al-Jazeera writes, “he ruled extravagantly and erratically” (2) and was quickly met with Algerian and international dissatisfaction (3).

Thus, on June 19th, 1965, Colonel Boumedienne staged a successful coup against Ben Bella and placed the former President under house arrest (1). Despite this status, Ben Bella married Zohra Sellami in 1971 and, after Boumedienne’s death, was exiled to Switzerland (1 ; 2). He attempted to re-enter politics upon returning to Algeria by leading the “Movement for the Democracy in Algeria Party” during the 1991 elections, but garnered little support (2). He lived in Algeria until his death on April 11, 2012 (1 ; 2).

(Text by Claiborne Beary)

*Ahmed Ben Bella’s father later changed his son’s birth-year to 1916 (1).

Sources

1. Gregory, Joseph R. “Ahmed Ben Bella, Revolutionary Who Led Algeria After Independence, Dies at 93.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 11 Apr. 2012, www.nytimes.com/2012/04/12/world/africa/ahmed-ben-bella-algerias-first-president-dies-at-93.html
2. N.a. “Algerian Founding Father Ben Bella Dead at 95.” News | Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera, 12 Apr. 2012, www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2012/04/201241241422807422.html  
3. Hill, Jonathan N. C. “Identity and Instability in Postcolonial Algeria.” The Journal of North African Studies, vol. 11, no. 1, Mar. 2006, pp. 1–16, doi:10.1080/13629380500409735.
4. Front de Libération Nationale, Le Charte d’Alger (1964) Chapter 3, para. 2

Chadli Bendjedid

Chadli Bendjedid was born in a peasant family in 1929 in the town Bouteldja. He joined the French army, but later defected and became part of the Algerian independence fighters in 1954.[1] After the Algerian independence in 1962, he was promoted and put in charge of the military in the port city of Oran.[2] Assisting Boumedienne’s coup against Ben Bella, Bendjedid got a place on the Revolutionary Council, and later became minister of Defense.[3]

After Boumedienne’s death in 1978, Bendjedid was elected president as the only standing candidate. He was chosen by the FLN party congress to be the late dictators successor, as a compromise between the pro-Western and pro-Islamist/socialist fractions of the party.[4] As president, Bendjedid moved away from the hardline socialist policy of his predecessor, as he allowed small businesses entrepreneurship and loosened authoritarian restrictions in the country.[5] Bendjedid was deemed successful in international diplomacy, as he formed Algeria’s role as neutral mediator in multiple conflicts in the Middle East.[6]

During the later halve of the 80’s, Bendjedid’s Algeria faced economic hardship, as the oil and gas prices dropped.[7] Radical protests in 1988 pushed Bendjedid to adapt more liberal policies and promise multiparty elections for the year 1992.[8] When it became clear that during these elections that the FIS was going to win the military intervened, suspended the elections and ousted Bendjedid as president. Bendjedid was placed under house arrest and later released in 1999, after which he lived most of his further life in Oman, until he died on October 6^th, 2012.[9]

(Text by Samuel Langelaan)

[1] Shepherd, Melinda C. “Chadli Bendjedid.” Encyclopædia Britannica. November 29, 2012. Accessed January 22, 2018. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Chadli-Bendjedid.

[2] Childs, Martin. “Chadli Bendjedid: Politician whose reforming zeal led to bloodshed.” The Independent. October 10, 2012. Accessed January 22, 2018. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/chadli-bendjedid-politician-whose-reforming-zeal-led-to-bloodshed-8205968.html.

[3] Ben-Madani, Mohamed. “Chadli Bendjedid obituary.” The Guardian. October 15, 2012. Accessed January 22, 2018. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/oct/15/chadli-bendjedid.

[4] Craddock, James (ed). “Chadli Bendjedid.” Encyclopedia of world biography. Detroit, MI: Gale, Cengage Learning, 2010. Accessed January 22, 2018.

http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GVRL&u=vol_m58c&id=GALE|CX3788300021&v=2.1&it=r&sid=summon#content

[5]Ibid.; Price, Rob. “Algerians Shed Few Tears for Deceased President Chadli Bendjedid | IPS.” Institute for Policy Studies. May 02, 2014. Accessed January 22, 2018. http://www.ips-dc.org/algerians_shed_few_tears_for_deceased_president_chadli_bendjedid/.

[6] Ben-Madani.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Gafaiti, Hafid. “Power, Censorship, and the Press: The Case of Postcolonial Algeria.” Research in African Literatures, vol. 30, no. 3, 1999, pp. 51–61. Dated Accessed 18 Jan 2018. www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/3821016.pdf.

[9]Craddock.

Abdelaziz Belkhadem

Mohamed Boudief (1919-1992)

Mohamed Boudief was one of the founders of the National Liberation Front (FLN) and head of the Algerian High Council of State (HCE). He was born June 23, 1919, in the M’sila Province in Algeria. He grew up under the French protectorate and like many enlisted in the French Army after being promised independence for Algeria if they fought in World War II. When it became apparent that the French would not fulfill their promise, he became a leading figure in the nationalist independence movement participating in guerrilla forces and joining the leadership of the FLN alongside Ahmed Ben Bella in 1954. However after being discovered to be a part of the nationalist leadership by the French forces and was imprisoned from 1956 to 1962 when he was ultimately released after Algeria established independence. He alongside Ben Bella was to establish a provisional government and Boudief was appointed Deputy Premier but due to his opposition to Ben Bella’s autocratic tendencies, he was arrested and then exiled to Morocco in 1964 where he denounced the FLN. In 1991, with the Islamic Fundamentalist movement growing and the Islamic Salvation Front winning the first round of parliamentary elections, the military intervened canceling the second round of elections and established a military-backed state. To further establish legitimacy they invited Boudief to return– after a 27-year exile– as Chairman of the High Council of State (where he would be in charge or ruling generals). As Chairman, Boudief tried to unite both Secular and Islamist factions, promised reforms, and removed high ranking officials from ranks. He also planned to launch an investigation into the corruption within the state something that didn’t sit well with those in and out of power. He was assassinated June 29th, 1992, whilst giving a televised speech in Annaba, Algeria. He was shot in the back and head by one of his bodyguards, Lieutenant Lambarek Boumaarafi, who at the time was suspected of having ties to the violent Armed Islamic Group. It was later discovered that a high ranking member of the DRS (military intelligence)  along with General Mediene might have also been involved. The HCE was dismantled in 1994 as the country plunged into Civil War, Boudief becoming a Martyr.

(Text by Emily Romero Rodriguez)

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/briefings/2010/09/201092582648347537.html

http://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/30/world/algerian-president-fatally-shot-at-rally.html

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2010/11/20101110142037288752.html

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-14118856

http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/algeriatestofpower/2013/09/2013919111051986985.html

Houari Boumédiène

Abdelazziz Bouteflika

Saïd Bouteflika

Ahmed Gaïd Salah 

Ramtane Lamamra

Mohamed Médiène a.k.a. “Toufik”

Mohamed Mediene or “General Toufik” was a secretive and integral member of the Algerian government from 1992 to 2015 and is one of the longest serving security chiefs globally. As head of the Intelligence and Security Directorate (DRS) for 25 years, he was likely the most powerful man in Algeria. Not much is known about his early life – he is so secretive that only a handful of images have been taken of him – but he first became involved in the intelligence community as a KGB trainee in the 1960s. Since then, he has risen through the ranks and exercised immense power over Algeria’s domestic security as well as over foreign policy through the Global War on Terror. As DRS chief Toufik was involved in the Algerian “Dark Decade” in the 1990s, and likely had something to do with the establishment of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in the Sahara-Sahel region. It is clear that he also used the corruption and scandal of senior Algerian leaders to his advantage as blackmail to keep them under control.

Toufik has clashed with other senior officials several times since the early 1990s. Multiple times, the post-coup general-appointed president, Liamine Zeroual attempted to replace him, only for his opponents to die or have their businesses ruined in mysterious and sudden ways. When President Bouteflika’s brother, Said, started amassing political power, it became likely that were he to win a future presidential election, one of Toufik’s opponents, Mohamed Betchine, would replace Toufik as head of the DRS. Toufik immediately began to pursue a massive delegitimization project against Said and his allies. At the same time, he effectively turned Bouteflika’s third term into one of puppetry and insignificance.

Since President Bouteflika began ailing in 2013, Toufik’s power has gradually waned. Toufik “resigned” suddenly in 2015 in a move that was seen by some to actually be his sacking as part of a move by senior civilian officials to demilitarize the government and push out those security officials involved in the bloody 1990s civil war, perhaps paving the way for Said Bouteflika to take control.

(Text by Rowen Price)

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-34268565

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/briefings/2010/09/201092582648347537.html

Amar Saâdani

Amar Saadani is the former chief of the ruling FLN (National Liberation Front) party. Saadani took over from Abdelaziz Belkhadem in 2013 when Belkhaden was removed from the FLN. Saadani faced considerable controversy while in office. In May 2015 police prevented a demonstration against Saadani where his opponents collected 111 signatures to petition President Abdelaziz Bouteflika for his removal. Bouteflika, who was attempting to partner with Saadani in getting the Algerian security services in check, backed Saadani.[1]

Saadani officially stated in 2016 that he was resigning due to health problems.[2] His resignation came suspiciously soon after accusing retired spy chief and General Mohamed Mediene (alias Toufik) and as the former prime minister of being French agents. [3] Saadani was known for his disagreement with official Algerian support of the Polisario (Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Rio de Oro), a group which wages a territorial dispute with Morocco over the control of the Western Sahara. [4] Saadani believes, alternatively, that the Sahara is a part of Morocco, notably appearing on Algerian TV Ennahar in November 2015. In this 2015 appearance, Saadani made veiled remarks that were interpreted as a message to Algerian officials, as well as his own FLN party, to stop Polisario support.[5] Former Algerian President Mohamen Boudiaf made similar statements in opposition to Polisario in 1992 and was assassinated.[6]

[1] Solutions, EIU Digital. “Algeria.” Support for FLN Leader, Amar Saadani, Weakening, 18 May 2016, country.eiu.com/article.aspx?articleid=1624230746&Country=Algeria&topic=Politics&subtopic=Forecast&subsubtopic=Political%2Bstability&u=1&pid=1456223129&oid=1456223129&uid=1.

[2] Markey., Patrick. “Algeria’s Ruling FLN Party Chief Steps Down.” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 23 Oct. 2016, www.reuters.com/article/us-algeria-politics/algerias-ruling-fln-party-chief-steps-down-idUSKCN12N0ES.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Oteng, Eric. “UN Envoy Meets Leaders of Polisario Front in Algeria.” Africanews, Africanews, 19 Oct. 2017, www.africanews.com/2017/10/19/un-envoy-meets-leaers-of-polisario-front//

[5] Jabrane, Ezzoubeir. “Leader of Algeria’s FLN Dismissed for His Position on Western Sahara .” Morocco World News, 13 Nov. 2016, www.moroccoworldnews.com/2016/11/201294/leader-algerias-fln-dismissed-position-western-sahara/.

[6] Ibid.

(Text by John Simms)

Département du renseignement et de la sécurité (DRS) or Department of Intelligence and Security)

The Département du Renseignement et de la Sécurité (which translates in English to: the Department of Intelligence and Security) refers to the all-encompassing police state which existed in Algeria until January of 2016.  What began as the establishment of “police schools” in 1964, later transitioned into a force dedicated to keeping up “with current security developments and challenges” in the country.[1]  Specifically, the goal of training cadets was ultimately faced with a need to improve efficiency and strengthen the cohesion between the various police agencies that existed at the time.[2]

The Department of Intelligence and Security in Algeria is said to be directly connected to the country’s independence movement.  Furthermore, originally referred to as “la Sécurité Militaire” (or SM), it was created by Colonel Abdelhafid Boussof after independence was gained and renamed the “Département du Renseignement et de la Sécurité” in 1990.[3]  Subsequently, under the leadership of Presidents Boumediène and Chadli Benjedid, the intelligence service advanced its hold on society gaining greater influence throughout the 1990s.[4]

In 1993, one of the agency’s most notable officers, General Mohamed Médiène, was in power and remained there until his removal in 2015.[5]  Subsequently, current President Abdelaziz Bouteflika “dissolved the longstanding military spy directorate” in order to create a new agency under his control.[6]  Sources indicate the choice to replace the DRS with the ‘Direction of Security Services” reflects a “significant move to restructure the intelligence apparatus” in order to “transfer DRS roles to army officials seen as loyal to the presidency.”[7]

Sources:

[1] Kouceila Zerguine, “The Transformation of the Security Sector in Algeria,” September 29, 2005, 6 & 5, http://carnegieendowment.org/files/Zerguine_AlgerianSecurityPaper.pdf.

[2] Ibid, 6.

[3] Hugh Roberts, “Demilitarizing Algeria,” Carnegie Papers, no. 86 (May 2007): 12.

[4] Ibid.

[5] “Algeria – Intelligence Agencies,” accessed January 22, 2018, http://countrystudies.us/algeria/176.htm; “Algeria Profile,” BBC News, January 8, 2018, sec. Africa, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-14118856.

[6] Lamine Chikhi, “Algeria’s Bouteflika Dissolves DRS Spy Unit, Creates New Agency: Sources,” Reuters, January 25, 2016, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-algeria-security/algerias-bouteflika-dissolves-drs-spy-unit-creates-new-agency-sources-idUSKCN0V31PU.

[7] Ibid.