Abdelaziz Bouteflika updates
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Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the former President of Algeria who died at the age of 84, ruled the North African country for 20 years until protests overthrew him in 2019.
A former Algerian war veteran from France, was praised by many of his people for helping restore peace after becoming president in 1999, following the so-called black age, in which nearly 100,000 people were killed politically between Muslims and the military.
His rule, however, came to an abrupt end when the Algerian people, fed up with corruption and economic mismanagement for many years, began to pressure the military, who controlled the political system to oust him.
Due to a stroke, he had not appeared in public since 2013, with rumors circulating that Said, his brother and a gatekeeper, and a group of businessmen had been around.
In 1992, the military intervened to prevent Muslims from winning elections, which resulted in bloodshed and carnage, bombings and mass killings in rural areas.
Islamic militants and militias have been charged with aggravated assault and other human rights abuses.
A refugee in the government who served as foreign minister, Bouteflika was forced to become president in 1999 by the Algerian opaque it ends, prominent decision-makers in the security and intelligence structures that have shaped politics since independence in 1962. In a bid to win, the election took place, but six of its opponents withdrew in the evening before the election, making it a success.
Bouteflika was well-known at home and abroad before becoming President. Born in 1937, he took part in the independent war against France in 1956 and joined the National Liberation Army in western Algeria. In 1963, at the age of 26, he was appointed foreign minister – a position he held until 1978.
At a time when Algeria was seen as a beacon against colonialism, Bouteflika played a major role in the world. As a key figure in the non-aligned party he welcomed Che Guevara and young Nelson Mandela to Algeria.
As President, the South African Civil Concord Act, approved by a referendum in 1999, ended the security crisis when the Islamic Salvation Army, a major militant group, and other groups eliminated their terrorists and expelled them after being pardoned in 2000.
Although peace has returned to the country, a European oil retailer, critics say under Bouteflika the dangers of civil war have just been tucked away on the carpet without anyone being held accountable for the atrocities that took place during the war. Legislative changes challenged the military’s role in the uprising.
With the help of rising oil prices, Bouteflika poured billions into large corporations, housing, real estate and government services. The economy remains highly dependent on hydrocarbons being exported and creating jobs failing to meet the needs of young people. When oil prices plummeted in 2014 the public’s outrage erupted against the invisible president and his evil party.
Bouteflika spent a long time fighting for power with the authorities behind it. He once said he did not want to be a “cake decoration”, representing the rival parties.
He formed an alliance in order to increase his interest in persecuting those who wanted to block him, but he was not a democracy and did not hide his contempt for elected bodies. Parliament was just a rubber band and most political parties in the country do not look like a window, while the general elections were taken by the president and senior officials, according to the interim dictatorship.
Despite his weakened state, Bouteflika secured four positions as President, having managed to convince his military allies to agree to change the law in 2008 to remove the two-year limit.
After running for president for the fourth time after a stroke, he left his allies to campaign for him. But, as his public presence increased, Algeria seemed to be on the move, people often wondered who was in charge, Bouteflika or his brother.
Wake release in 2019 did not change power in Algeria. The demonstration team was disrupted by coronavirus damage and by government officials. The Armed Forces remain in control of the country and are now under the control of Abdelmadjid Tebboune, an incumbent who appears to be elected by the military.