Houari Boumédiène
President of Algeria from 1976 to 1978 / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Houari Boumédiène[lower-alpha 1] (Arabic: هواري بومدين, romanized: Hawwārī Būmadyan; born Mohammed ben Brahim Boukherouba;[lower-alpha 2] 23 August 1932 – 27 December 1978) was an Algerian military officer and politician who served as Chairman of the Revolutionary Council of Algeria from 19 June 1965 until 12 December 1976 and thereafter as the second president of Algeria until his death in 1978.
Houari Boumédiène | |
---|---|
هواري بومدين | |
2nd President of Algeria | |
In office 10 December 1976 – 27 December 1978 | |
Preceded by | Himself (as Chairman of the Revolutionary Council) |
Succeeded by | Chadli Bendjedid |
Chairman of the Revolutionary Council | |
In office 19 June 1965 – 10 December 1976 | |
Preceded by | Ahmed Ben Bella (as President) |
Succeeded by | Himself (as President) |
4th Secretary General of Non-Aligned Movement | |
In office 5 September 1973 – 16 August 1976 | |
Preceded by | Kenneth Kaunda |
Succeeded by | William Gopallawa |
6th Chairperson of the Organisation of African Unity | |
In office 13 September 1968 – 6 September 1969 | |
Preceded by | Mobutu Sese Seko |
Succeeded by | Ahmadou Ahidjo |
Head of State of Algeria | |
In office 19 June 1965 – 10 December 1976 | |
Chief of Staff | |
In office 1960–1962 | |
Chief of Staff in the West | |
In office 1958–1960 | |
Chief of the Wilaya 5 | |
In office 1957–1958 | |
Preceded by | Abdelhafid Boussouf |
Succeeded by | Benali Boudghène |
Personal details | |
Born | Mohamed ben Brahim Boukherouba (1932-08-23)23 August 1932 Guelma, Algeria |
Died | 27 December 1978(1978-12-27) (aged 46) Algiers, Algeria |
Political party | National Liberation Front |
Spouse | Anissa al-Mansali |
Nickname | Houari Boumédiène |
Military service | |
Allegiance | Algeria |
Branch/service | |
Years of service |
|
Rank | Colonel
Brigadier General Major General Lieutenant General General of the Army |
Battles/wars | Algerian War Sand War |
Born in Guelma, he was educated at the Islamic Institute in Constantine. He joined the National Liberation Front in 1955 and adopted the nom de guerre Houari Boumediene. He received the rank of colonel and in 1960 became the commander of the military wing of the FLN.
President Ahmed Ben Bella appointed him Minister of Defense in 1961. He did not agree with Ben Bella's reforms, and later overthrew him in a bloodless coup in June 1965 and put him under house arrest. He abolished the constitution and the parliament, and he himself was the chairman of the 27-member Revolutionary Council, the new institution that governed the state. The members of the council were mostly from the army. Initially he did not have much influence, but after a group of military officers attempted a coup and tried to overthrow him in 1967, he consolidated his power. The oil industry was nationalized in 1971. From the 1970s, a gradual restoration of parliamentarism and civil institutions in Algeria was initiated. This process ended with the adoption of the new constitution in 1976. The position of president was reinstated, and Boumediene took over after winning an election with 99.46 per cent of the votes. He pursued Arab socialist and Pan-Arabist policies. He was strongly opposed to Israel and offered logistic assistance to anti-colonial movements and freedom fighters across the Arab world and Africa.
From the beginning of 1978, Boumediene appeared less and less in public. He died on December 27, 1978, after unsuccessful treatment for a rare form of blood cancer, Waldenström's macroglobulinemia. His funeral was attended by two million mourners.[1] He was succeeded as president by Chadli Bendjedid.