The former president of Algeria, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, has died after a long illness at the age of 84

18 September 2021

Abdelaziz Bouteflika

Share this story

Bouteflika led the country for almost two decades, stepping down in 2019 after his bid for a fifth term in office led to massive street protests.

He played a key role in Algeria’s war of independence in the 1950s and 60s.

Then in 1999, as Algeria emerged from a brutal civil war that killed almost 200,000 people, he became president at the urging of the military.

Bouteflika had rarely been seen in public since a stroke in 2013, which affected his speech and mobility.

His political career began early: After Algeria’s independence from France in 1962, he became the world’s youngest minister of foreign affairs in his mid-twenties, a record that still stands.

He would hold the job for 16 years and was an active member of the UN. As president of the general assembly in 1974, he invited Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to address the UN governing body – an unprecedented and ground-breaking move.

He also insisted China should have a UN seat and stood against apartheid in South Africa. He is credited with giving young Nelson Mandela his first military training.

Bouteflika passed part of the 1980s in exile, avoiding corruption charges that were ultimately dropped.

He returned home in the 1990s and took office in 1999 – Algeria’s first civilian leader in more than three decades.

The man known as “Boutef” managed to broker peace between the army and armed Islamist militants who were fighting the country’s civil war.

In 2008, he initiated a change in Algeria’s constitution which removed the two-term limit for presidents – and was duly re-elected twice, despite circling fraud charges.

When the 2011 Arab Spring protests broke out across North Africa, Bouteflika swiftly increased public subsidies and ended Algeria’s long-standing state of emergency.

His final public appearance was in 2017, four years after his stroke, when he inaugurated a metro station and the newly renovated Ketchaoua mosque in Algiers. By this time, his younger brother Said Bouteflika was widely viewed as the country’s real ruler behind the scenes.

When it was announced that the ailing president would run for a fifth term in 2019, protests spread across the country.

They snowballed into full-blown nationwide weekly demonstrations, unlike any Algeria had seen before.

After initially vowing to postpone elections and step down within a year, Bouteflika was forced to resign.

That would be the last time most Algerians saw the man who held the presidency for 20 years.

(C) BBC

Last Posts

Leader of Opposition Hon. Dumelang Saleshando whose Botswana Congress Party (BCP) boasts 15 MPs in the 13th Parliament

 A Response to the State of the Nation Address

Share this story

Share this storyBy Hon Dumelang Saleshando Leader of Opposition 21 November 2024 Title: We have crossed the Rubicon: Now what awaits us? A new or old Botswana Mr. Speaker, your Honour the Vice President and…

18 September 2021

State of the Nation Address to the First Meeting of the First Session of the 13th Parliament

Share this story

Share this storyBy Advocate Duma Gideon Boko President of the Republic of Botswana 19th November 2024 Theme: Transforming Botswana for inclusive growth May their souls rest in peace and in their memory, let us forge…

18 September 2021

HB invests 137 Million Pula in Botswana, fuelling the nation’s rise as a diamond powerhouse

Share this story

Share this storyEighteen (18) months after launch, HB is advancing HB Botswana’s processing capacity with a transformative new 137 million Pula investment. This commitment will expand HB’s processing capacity and create hundreds of high-quality jobs,…

18 September 2021

Elephant over-population causes massive destruction of trees, poor food and water supply for all the wildlife_

U.S. Appeals Court’s decision on ivory, Rhino horn sales may signal reopening of international trade

Share this story

Share this story By Emmanuel Koro  Johannesburg,  19 November 2024 In a significant development for a return to a reasonable approach to trade in ivory and rhino horn products,  the U.S. Second Court of Appeals has…

18 September 2021

India in top 10 globally for patents, trademarks and industrial designs

Share this story

Share this storyIndia now ranks among the top 10 countries globally in the number of patents, trademarks and industrial design applications, according to the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) 2024 report on IP trends. The…

18 September 2021

Irina Abramova (Moderator), Mohamed Salem Ould Merzoug (Mauritania FM), Sergey Lavrov (Russia FM) and Dr Monque Nsanzabanganwa (African Union Commission) - Pic (TPA)

Russia has never been involved in the exploitation of African peoples – Sergey Lavrov

Share this story

Share this storyThe Pan Afrikanist Watchman At the close of the First Ministerial Conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum on November 10th 2024 in the Sirius Federal Territory, Sochi, Russia’s veteran Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov…

18 September 2021

Related Stories