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

Интервью-СВЛ-для-АиФ

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s interview to Argumenty i Fakty newspaper

Share this story

Share this storyQuestion: Let me commence with BRICS. A significant number of countries, approximately 30 or perhaps more, have voiced their intention to join this group. Notably, Türkiye, a NATO member, which was rather surprising to…

18 September 2021

oplus_0

Delegates during a workshop aimed at enhancing the monitoring and evaluation framework for the SADC Model Law on Eradicating Child Marriage and Protecting Children Already in Marriage.

SADC PF workshop seeks better monitoring and domestication of child marriage Model Law

Share this story

Share this storyMoses Magadza in Johannesburg A workshop aimed at enhancing the monitoring and evaluation framework for the SADC Model Law on Eradicating Child Marriage and Protecting Children Already in Marriage got underway in Johannesburg,…

18 September 2021

President Advocate Duma Gideon Boko

Botswana’s Watershed Moment: Boko becomes sixth President as UDC sweeps the stakes in national poll

Share this story

Share this storyThe Pan Afrikanist Watchman When on 8th August 2024 Letsile Tebogo won the 200m final at the Paris Olympics, securing the first-ever gold medal for Botswana with a time of 19.46s, Duma Boko,…

18 September 2021

France is coming back to recolonize Africa – Sahrawi Republic Representative to the African Union

Share this story

Share this storySaharawi Deputy Permanent Representative to the AU, Ambassador Malainnin Lakhal, described as a recolonization of Africa, the recent visit of President Macron of France to Morocco and speech before the Moroccan Parliament in…

18 September 2021

Dr Faith Rapuleng-Tuelo, UB's Director of Public Affairs

University of Botswana makes ‘significant strides’ in THE World University rankings

Share this story

Share this storyThe Pan Afrikanist Watchman The University of Botswana has recorded “significant strides” in the 2025 Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings. According to UB’s Director of Public Affairs, Dr Faith Rapuleng-Tuelo, it…

18 September 2021

Mr. Adolf Mavheneke, an independent consultant. Photo: Contributed.

SADC PF committee receives calls for more women’s political participation

Share this story

Share this storyBy Moses Magadza A public hearing convened by the SADC Parliamentary Forum’s Standing Committee on Food, Agriculture, Natural Resources and Climate Action (FANRCA) on 18 October 2024 received presentations from different organisations within…

18 September 2021

Related Stories