He took an active part in the struggle for independence of his country during the Algerian War.
He is not a man who likes to be questioned by journalists. In cabinet, however, he takes questions easily and has an ability to tackle them incisively. As a minister in charge of education he has been more at home, planning the expansion of facilities for students who will have a vital part in the country’s development in the next decade.
Background
Was born on january, 30 1932 Djedjelli, Algeria. Is an Algerian politician. A nationalist militant during the war in Algeria.
In 1981 he was the victim of a serious plane crash in Mali which caused him severe injuries and forced him to rest for several months. He was accompanied by his collaborator Abdelwahab Abada, director of African affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE), also alive of the accident. At the time of war, will die over the Iran-Turkey border on 3 May 1982.
Education
Educated at Algiers where he obtained a law degree at the university in 1955.
Career
Key negotiator of independence from the French in 1962, who fell out of favour with Ben Bella but has acquired increasing political influence since the 1965 revolution.
This status was publicly acknowledged in January 1973 when he was sent to Conakry as Algeria’s representative at the memorial ceremonies after the assassination of Amilcar Cabral, revolutionary leader in Portuguese Guinea.
Engrossed in politics from his early student days, he became president of the General Union of Algerian Moslem Students (UGEMA).
Straight from university he became an important agent of the National Liberation Front (FLN) and was sent to Indonesia as their diplomatic representative in 1956. He rose to become Secretary-General of the provisional government in 1959 and was given the influential post of secretary in the National Council of the Algerian Revolution (CNRA). At the negotiations with the French he played an important role in the FLN delegation in May and July 1961 and paved the way for the agreement at Evian.
After independence he became a victim of the power struggle inside the government. Cast as the scapegoat, he was dropped from the hierarchy. In February he was given a consolation posting as Ambassador to Moscow. He lay low until the Boumedienne take over in 1965, when he was employed to convince the Russians that the new revolution was genuinely socialist. One of his rewards was to have been the post of Ambassador to Britain in the autumn of 1965 but at the last moment plans were changed and he did not go to London. He travelled a lot in an attempt to establish Algeria’s position in the Arab world as a state with revolutionary vigor but he was not at ease in the role of a minister responsible for, and responsive to, the communications media.
Personality
A man of considerable intellectual standing among students at home and revolutionaries abroad. Although not physically strong as a sufferer from stomach trouble, he has great mental resilience and asserts himself when any planning beyond the immediate future required a sense of political perspective. Not a man for public debate and unimpressive at times as Minister of Information, he is a good committee man.