Background
Ahmed Medeghri, born on July 23, 1934. Originally from Saida where his father is a militant of the UDMA then the PPA-MTLD, he spent his childhood before obtaining his baccaluréat in Mascara in 1954
Ahmed Medeghri, born on July 23, 1934. Originally from Saida where his father is a militant of the UDMA then the PPA-MTLD, he spent his childhood before obtaining his baccaluréat in Mascara in 1954
Educated locally, then at Algiers. He began studying law but abandoned his studies to join the freedom fighters in
1956.
He joins the bush by going to the headquarters of the Wilaya 5, Under the command of Houari Boumediène in Oujda. After independence he became the irremovable Minister of the Interior for 12 years, from 1962 until his death in 1974. He was at the origin of the first post-independence territorial divisions.
One of the strongest figures in the party and government, a possible successor to Boumedienne. Stalwart of the revolution as a member of the Oujda Group in Morocco at the time of the liberation struggle, he became Minister of the Interior in 1962 in the first government formed by Ben Bella as President. Put into the position of having to resign or accept a greatly reduced power base, he quit the government in July 1964. As one of the chief planners of the coup in June 1965 he became a member of the Revolutionary Council and was restored to his place as Minister of the Interior.
An intellectual without academic qualifications, he is earnest and intense but so far has not made much impact as a speaker on big public occasions. With a carefully trimmed gaucho moustache he is often to be seen alongside Boumcdienne at important meetings of councils and commissions.
Clever and brave in operations, he rose to be a commander of the National Liberation Army (ALN) in Wilaya V with Boumcdienne. In 1962 he was one of the main supporters of Ben Bella in the Tlemcen group during the bitter party in-fighting after the ceasefire. His reward was the post of Minister of the Interior in the cabinet formed on September 18, 1963, by Ben Bella as President.
His position began to be undermined as Ben Bella tried to concentrate more and more power in the presidency. In July 1964 Ben Bella instructed regional administrators to report direct to him instead of the Ministry of the Interior. If Medeghri had accepted this situation his authority would have been quickly whittled away. He resigned but stayed in close touch with Boumedienne, who was the next target of Ben Bella's manoeuvres to reduce rival power bases.
Medeghri’s intelligence network and his tactical skill were important to Boumedienne in planning the bloodless coup with 10 handpicked officers and 10 men on June 19, 1965. He was one of the key members of the 26-man Revolutionary Council announced on July 5, 1965, and he became one of the senior members of the 19-strong cabinet formed on July 10, 1965. As Minister of the Interior again he resumed control of the security forces which were responsible for foiling a coup by Colonel Zbiri in December 1967 and an assassination attempt against Boumedienne in April 1968.
Confirmed in the Interior Ministry at the major reshuffle of July 1970, he has steadily increased his influence in the administration and the party. In January 1973 he was at Boumedienne’s side during the meetings of the National Commission of the Agrarian Revolution (CNRA) planning the development projects and their priorities.
Strong-minded clear-thinking politician