Chadli Bendjedid

Biography

Chadli Bendjedid (Arabic: الشاذلي بن جديد), born April 14, 1929 in Bouteldja and died October 6, 2012 in Algiers, is an Algerian military and statesman. He was President of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria from February 9, 1979 to January 11, 1992. A fighter during the Algerian War, having risen to the rank of colonel, he was a member of the Revolutionary Council from 1965 to 1976. He was appointed Secretary General of the single party at the time, the National Liberation Front (FLN), in January 1979. He was elected President of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria the following month. Re-elected head of state in 1984 and 1989 without a competitor, he also served as Minister of Defense from 1979 to 1990 and as leader of the FLN during his three terms. From 1989, presented as the father of the democratic initiative in Algeria, he authorized multiparty politics, reduced the repression of the political police, and removed measures restricting leaving the national territory. While he also took a liberal turn on economic issues, he was conservative in social matters, with the adoption of a new Family Code deemed retrograde for women's rights. After the large lead obtained in December 1991 by the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) in the first round of the legislative elections, he agreed to dissolve the outgoing National People's Assembly (APN), causing an institutional vacuum. Under pressure from the "Januaryist" generals, he resigned shortly after from the presidency of the country, with the High Committee of State taking over. Under house arrest until 1999, Chadli Bendjedid died of cancer at the age of 83 in 2012.