| Chadli Bendjedid | |
|---|---|
| 6th President of Algeria | |
| In office February 9, 1979 – January 11, 1992 |
|
| Preceded by | Rabah Bitat |
| Succeeded by | Muhammad Boudiaf |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 14, 1929 Bouteldja, Algeria |
| Political party | FLN |
| Spouse(s) | Halima Ben Aissa |
| Religion | Sunni Islam |
Chadli Bendjedid (Arabic: شاذلي بن جديد) (born April 14, 1929 at Bouteldja,[1] now in El Taref Province) was the sixth President of Algeria from February 9, 1979 to January 11, 1992.
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Chadli Bendjedid served in the French Army as a noncommissioned officer and fought in Indo-China.[1] He defected to the National Liberation Front (FLN) at the beginning of the Algerian War of Independence in 1954. A protege of Houari Boumediene, Bendjedid was rewarded with the military command of the Oran, Algeria region in 1964.[1] After independence he rose through the ranks, becoming head of the 2nd military region in 1964 and Colonel in 1969.[2]
Bendjedid was minister of defense from November 1978 to February 1979 and became president following the death of Boumédiènne. Bendjedid was a compromise candidate who came to power after the party leadership and presidency was contested at the fourth FLN congress held on 27 - 31 January 1979. The most likely to succeed Boumediene were Mohammad Salah Yahiaoui and Abdelaziz Bouteflika. The latter had served as a foreign secretary at the United Nations for sixteen years. He was a prominent member of the Oujda clan and regarded as a pro-Western liberal. Yahiaoui was closely affiliated with the communists, permitting the Parti de l'Avant-Garde Socialiste (PAGS) to acquire jurisdiction over the mass trade union and youth organizations.[1]
In office, Bendjedid reduced the state's role in the economy and eased government surveillance of citizens. In the late 1980s, with the economy failing due to rapidly falling oil prices, tension rose between elements of the regime who supported Bendjedid's economic liberalization policies, and those who wanted a return to the statist model. In October 1988, youth marches protesting the regime’s austerity policies and shouting slogans against Benjedid, evolved into massive rioting which spread to Oran, Annaba and other cities; the military’s brutal suppression of the rioters left several hundred dead.[3] Perhaps as a political survival strategy, Bendjedid then called for and began to implement a transition towards multi-party democracy.[3] However in 1991 the military intervened to stop elections from bringing the Islamist Front Islamique du Salut (FIS) to power, forcing Bendjedid out of office and sparking a long and bloody Algerian Civil War.
Bendjedid has mostly stayed out of politics since January 1992. He returned to the public eye in late 2008 when he gave a controversial speech at a conference in Al-Tarif, his hometown[4].
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Rabah Bitat |
President of Algeria 1979–1992 |
Succeeded by Muhammad Boudiaf |
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