Chadli Bendjedid
Chadli Bendjedid | |
---|---|
الشاذلي بن جديد | |
3rd President of Algeria | |
In office 9 February 1979 – 11 January 1992 | |
Prime Minister | Mohamed Ben Ahmed Abdelghani Abdelhamid Brahimi Kasdi Merbah Mouloud Hamrouche Sid Ahmed Ghozali |
Preceded by | Rabah Bitat (Interim) |
Succeeded by | Abdelmalek Benhabyles (Acting) |
Personal details | |
Born | PNP | 14 April 1929
Years of service | 1954–1962 (ALN) 1962–1979 (PNP) |
Rank | Colonel |
Battles/wars | Algerian War |
Chadli Bendjedid (
A combatant during the Algerian War, he was a member of the Revolutionary Council from 1965 to 1976 and was appointed Colonel in 1969.
He was appointed Secretary General of the National Liberation Front (FLN) in January 1979 and was elected president the following month. Bendjedid would win re-elections without competition in 1984 and 1989. He resigned from the presidency in January 1992 following a disputed election and military coup, leading to the Algerian Civil War.
He remained under house arrest until 1999 and died of cancer at the age of 83.
Career
Early life and career
Bendjedid was born in
Ascent to presidency
Bendjedid was
In office, Bendjedid reduced the state's role in the
Post-presidency life
Bendjedid was put under house arrest in Oran but freed in 1999 after the rise to the presidency of Abdelaziz Bouteflika. In a 2002 interview, he revealed his willingness to accept the results of the 1991 poll and work with the FIS while avoiding their takeover of all government institutions. He believed the constitution gave him the power to do so, but he failed to win over the support of the military establishment.[5]
He returned to the public eye in late 2008 when he gave a controversial speech at a conference in Al-Tarif, his hometown.[6] The publication of his memoirs was announced on 1 November 2012, coinciding with the 58th anniversary of the outbreak of the War of National Liberation.[7]
Illness and death
Bendjedid was hospitalized in Paris in January 2012 for cancer treatment and returned to hospital again in May and October 2012.[8] On 3 October 2012, Bendjedid was admitted to the intensive care unit of a military hospital in Ain-Naadja in Algiers. State-run media announced that he died of cancer on 6 October 2012.[9][10] He was buried at the El Alia Cemetery.
Honours
National honour
- Grand Master of the National Order of Merit
References
- ^ a b c d Algeria:Anger of The Dispossessed, Martin Evans and John Phillips, Yale University Press, 2007, p. 114
- ^ "El Mouradia, Chadli Ben Djedid". El-mouradia.dz. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
- ^ a b ""Black October" Riots in Algeria 1988". Onwar.com. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
- ^ "Chadli Bendjedid". The Telegraph. 7 October 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
- ^ Mohamed Ben-Madani (15 October 2012). "Chadli Bendjedid obituary". theguardian. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
- ^ Revolutionary ghosts Archived 9 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine Al-Ahram Weekly, Issue 927, 25–31 December 2008.
- ^ "Chadli Bendjedid raconte sa vie". Jeune Afrique. 28 September 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
- ^ "Former Algerian President Chadli Bendjedid dies". Al Arabiya. Algiers. AFP. 6 October 2012. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
- ^ "Algeria ex-president Chadli Bendjedid dies". BBC. 6 October 2012. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
- ^ "Algerian president overthrown in '92 coup dies". The Huffington Post. 6 October 2012. Retrieved 6 October 2012.