Chadli Bendjedid (Arabic: شاذلي بن جديد‎) (born April 14, 1929 at Bouteldja, now in El Taref Province) was the third President of Algeria from February 9, 1979 to January 11, 1992.

Chadli Bendjedid served in the French Army as a noncommissioned officer and fought in Indo-China. He defected to the National Liberation Front (FLN) at the beginning of the Algerian War of Independence in 1954. A protege of Houari Boumediene, Bendjedid was rewarded with the military command of the Oran, Algeria region in 1964. After independence he rose through the ranks, becoming head of the 2nd military region in 1964 and Colonel in 1969.

Bendjedid was minister of defense from November 1978 to February 1979 and became president following the death of Boumédiènne. Bendjedid was a compromise candidate who came to power after the party leadership and presidency was contested at the fourth FLN congress held on 27 - 31 January 1979. The most likely to succeed Boumediene were Mohammad Salah Yahiaoui and Abdelaziz Bouteflika. The latter had served as a foreign secretary at the United Nations for sixteen years. He was a prominent member of the Oujda clan and regarded as a pro-Western liberal. Yahiaoui was closely affiliated with the communists, permitting the Parti de l'Avant-Garde Socialiste (PAGS) to acquire jurisdiction over the mass trade union and youth organizations.