President of Algeria
President of Algeria | |
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Presidential Standard | |
Residence | El Mouradia |
Appointer | The Electorate |
Term length | 5 years, renewable once |
Inaugural holder | Ahmed Ben Bella |
Formation | 15 September 1963 |
Website | Official Webpage |
Standard Arabic | |
Abjad | رئيس الجمهورية الجزائرية الديمقراطية الشعبية |
Romanization | Ra’īs al-Jumhūriyyah al-Jazā’iriyyah ad-Dīmuqrāṭiyyah ash-Sha‘biyyah |
Tamazight | |
Tifinagh | ⴰⵙⴻⵍⵡⴰⵢ ⵏ ⵜⴻⴳⴷⵓⴷⴰ ⵜⴰⵣⵣⴰⵢⵔⵉⵜ ⵜⴰⵎⴻⴳⴷⴰⵢⵜ ⵜⴰⵖⴻⵔⴼⴰⵏⵜ |
Latin | Aselway n Tegduda Tazzayrit Tamegdayt Taɣerfant |
French | |
French | Président de la République algérienne démocratique et populaire |
This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Algeria |
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Constitution |
The President of Algeria is the head of state and chief executive of Algeria, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Algerian People's National Armed Forces.
Contents
History of the office[edit]
The Tripoli Program, which served as Algeria's constitution when it won its war for independence from France in 1962, established the President as the head of state with a Prime Minister assisting in the operation of government. Internal political maneuvering resulted in a new constitution in 1963 that abolished the Prime Minister position and devolved all executive power upon the office of the President. For the first four decades of independence government was controlled as a one-party state by the National Liberation Front or FLN. The presidency was held by a succession of FLN members; Ahmed Ben Bella, Houari Boumédienne and Chadli Bendjedid. The constitution written in 1976 maintained the executive power of the Presidency, but the modifications of 1979 stripped the head of government status from the office.
Towards the end of the 1980s there was a liberalization of the FLN regime. However, when the Islamic Salvation Front won parliamentary elections in 1991, the military forced Chadli Bendjedid to dissolve the parliament and resign on 11 January 1992. The military declared a state of emergency and took over government of the country, establishing a five-member High Council of State. The council appointed a President, Muhammad Boudiaf, to take office for a three-year term to facilitate a transfer back to normal elections for the office. However Boudiaf was assassinated, and succeeded by Ali Kafi. Meanwhile the country descended into a period of civil war, between the military government and Islamic guerrillas. Kafi was replaced in 1994 by Liamine Zéroual, who called the first of these elections in 1995, winning the full five-year term easily in disputed in election as the civil war was continuing. He called another early election in 1999, with the Islamic insurgency mostly suppressed. Abdelaziz Bouteflika won this election after all other candidates dropped out. He won re-election on 8 April 2004, in elections that were also disputed, won again in 2009, relatively unchallenged, and 2014; his term ends in 2019.
List of Presidents of Algeria, 1962–present[edit]
Latest election[edit]
Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
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Abdelaziz Bouteflika | National Liberation Front | 8,332,598 | 81.53 | |
Ali Benflis | Independent | 1,244,918 | 12.18 | |
Abdelaziz Belaid | Front for the Future | 343,624 | 3.36 | |
Louisa Hanoune | Workers' Party | 140,253 | 1.37 | |
Ali Fawzi Rebaine | Ahd 54 | 101,046 | 0.99 | |
Moussa Touati | Algerian National Front | 57,590 | 0.56 | |
Invalid/blank votes | 1,087,449 | – | ||
Total | 11,307,478 | 100 | ||
Registered voters/turnout | 21,871,393 | 51.70 | ||
Source: Interior Ministry |
Living former Presidents[edit]
There are one living former Algerian President and one living acting president:
Abdelmalek Benhabyles
served 1992, born 27 April 1921 (age 97)Liamine Zeroual
served 1994–1999, born 3 July 1941 (age 77)