Abd al-Aziz Bouteflika

Abd al-Aziz Bouteflika (2012)

Abd al-Aziz Bouteflika ( Arabic عبد العزيز بوتفليقة, DMG ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz Būtaflīqa ; born on March 2, 1937 in Oujda , then French Morocco ; died on September 17, 2021 ; Nickname Boutef ) was an Algerian politician. From April 1999 to April 2019 he was President of Algeria.

In February 2019 he announced that he would run again in the presidential election originally planned for April 18, but withdrew his candidacy after nationwide protests. On April 1, 2019, he announced that he would resign and did so the following day with immediate effect.

Life and career

Abd al-Aziz Bouteflika was the son of Ahmed Bouteflika, a former high-ranking member of the Zaouia , and Mansouria Ghezlaoui, who hail from Tlemcen near the Moroccan border. Bouteflika himself was a member of the Qādirīya . In addition to four brothers (Abdelghani, Mustapha, Abderahim and Saïd) he had a sister (Latifa) and three half-sisters (Fatima, Yamina and Aïcha). Said served as his doctor and, as one of Bouteflika's closest advisers is believed to have had a major influence on Algerian politics.

Bouteflika completed his school career in Oujda and graduated with honors. He probably joined the National Liberation Front ( FLN ) in 1956 . Bouteflika completed his one-year military training at the École des Cadres in Dar El Kebdani in Morocco. He quickly made a career with the support of Houari Boumedienne , whose secretary he also became. After Algerian independence in 1962, Bouteflika was appointed Minister for Youth, Sports and Tourism under President Ahmed Ben Bella , and a year later he was promoted to Minister of Foreign Affairs , which he held until 1979.

He was a member of the "National Revolutionary Council" headed by Boumedienne, which in 1965 brought about the overthrow of Ben Bellas. 1974/75 Bouteflika was President of the UN General Assembly . After Boumedienne's death on December 27, 1978, he ran for president; however, the military- backed Bendjedid Chadli became president.

In 1981 he went into exile to avoid investigations into corruption. Bouteflika is said to have stolen sixty million dinars from the Algerian embassy between 1965 and 1979 . In a power struggle between President Chadli Bendjedid and the military in 1988, Bouteflika reappeared politically. He condemned the military's actions against the demonstrators in an open letter. In 1989 he returned to Algeria and took over management positions in the FLN again.

During the Algerian civil war from December 1991 onwards, Bouteflika held back politically and hardly appeared in the media. He is said to have been offered the office of president by the Algerian military as early as 1994, but Bouteflika declined because he was said not to have been assured of complete control over the armed forces. Eventually, with the support of the military , Liamine Zéroual was sworn in as president.

Little was known about Bouteflika's personal life; When asked by a journalist in February 2000, he replied that he was unmarried. Several sources reported a now divorced marriage to Amal Tiki, which was entered into closed circuit in El Biar in August 1990 . However, this has not been officially confirmed; the date of the divorce is unknown. In addition, the Algerian Ministry of Communications banned the sale of newspaper editions that contained information (or mere guesswork ) about Bouteflika's marital status. Amal Tiki, born in 1968, comes from the city of Tlemcen . She is the daughter of Yahia Triki, a former senior official in the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is commonly assumed that Bouteflika has no children.

Election to president

In 1999 he was elected President to succeed Liamine Zéroual. His candidacy came at the request of General Larbi Belkheir , who secured him the support of the military. General Smain Lamari secured the support of the RCD leadership for Bouteflika . In addition, Bouteflika was supported by the Islamist party Hamas after its party leader Mahmud Nannah was unable to run due to a formality.

Bouteflika was seen as an early winner in the media, even when official government agencies promised a free election. Several presidential candidates withdrew their candidacies in protest of electoral fraud. In the elections there was massive manipulation in favor of Bouteflikas. The state media reported a turnout of around 60%. Independent observers estimate around 30% and an even lower participation in Kabylia . After the election, there were demonstrations in major cities in the country. After the election, Bouteflika formed a coalition of the FLN, the RND and Hamas.

Amnesty for Islamists

As part of Bouteflika's policy of reaching a reconciliation with the Islamists and ending the civil war , the Islamists mentioned who were not involved in any violent acts were soon given amnesty . On September 16, 1999, the population of Algeria voted overwhelmingly in favor of the President's peace plan. Although the amnesty was widely used, terrorist acts by militant Islamists continued. In the fasting month of Ramadan in 2000 alone, around 200 people died.

On September 29, 2005, Bouteflika submitted the “Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation” for a nationwide vote, which set the goal of ending the ongoing civil war by amnestying participation in it, provided that there was no serious criminal offense. It was accepted with an official turnout of 79.76 percent with 97.36 percent of the valid votes. Some opposition parties criticized the charter as it would empower the government to prevent prosecution or to implement it at its own discretion.

Re-elections from 2004 to 2014

In the presidential election on April 8, 2004, Bouteflika received 83 percent of the votes cast, this percentage was subsequently revised up to 85 percent by the Algerian Constitutional Council. The remaining votes were split between five opposition candidates. The latter then raised allegations of manipulation, and there was disagreement among election observers as to whether electoral fraud was taking place on a large scale. As in 1999, there were violent protests in Kabylia in the course of the elections, with several injured.

In the presidential election on April 9, 2009 , Bouteflika received 90.24 percent of the votes. For this third re-election, a controversial constitutional amendment was required, which lifted the limit on re-elections of the state president and allowed Bouteflika a third term.

In the parliamentary elections on May 10, 2012 , which took place under the influence of the largely ended Arab Spring , Bouteflika's party received the most seats with 208, but did not win an absolute majority in the lower house . Together with the National Democratic Collection (RND), it had a comfortable majority.

Despite his poor health, Bouteflika ran for the presidential election in April 2014 and was confirmed in office with an official turnout of 51.7% with 81.53 percent of the votes cast. During the election campaign, Bouteflika only made two appearances and gave a single speech, which was largely incomprehensible due to a stroke she suffered in 2013. The support of the Algerian upper class was also limited.

Cabinet reshuffle

In mid-September 2013, Bouteflika radically reshaped his cabinet. He filled key departments such as the interior, justice and foreign ministries with confidants and distant internal adversaries. General Ahmad Gaïd Salah was installed as Deputy Minister of Defense in the military leadership. General Bachir Tartag was removed from the head of the DSI, which is responsible for the fight against al-Qaida, among other things. Both were seen as an attempt by the presidential team to extend control over the state apparatus. The national budget of Algeria generated relatively high revenues from the export of gas until the fall in oil and gas prices in 2014, so that social peace could be achieved with government grants.

health status

Bouteflika was seriously ill for many years. In April 2013 he was brought to Paris for medical treatment (officially for a minor stroke ); he did not return until July. Bouteflika was re-elected for the fourth time in April 2014, despite two repeated strokes, but did not perform publicly for three years. He was in a wheelchair and could barely speak.

Scheduled presidential election 2019 and death

Bouteflika said in February 2019 that he would run for a fifth term in the presidential election on April 18, 2019 .

This sparked public protests; on March 1, several hundred thousand protesters were counted across the country. Bouteflika announced that he would not hold a full term after his re-election. A national conference should discuss political, economic and social reforms and draw up a new constitution; this should be submitted to the citizens for a vote. According to a television report, Bouteflikas election campaign manager announced that his retirement from office and the associated new elections will take place after one year. Bouteflika submitted his application on March 3rd, the last possible day. As a result, several opposition parties called for a boycott of the election; Ali Benflis , who was considered the most promising opponent , withdrew his candidacy.

Algeria's universities were strongholds of protest against Bouteflika. In order to at least partially curb the organization of rallies, the Algerian Ministry of Education announced an early semester break.

On March 11, 2019, the President's Office announced that Bouteflika would not be standing; the election will be postponed. The military, an important power factor in the North African country, expressed its sympathy for the demonstrators. On March 26, the Army Chief of Staff and Deputy Defense Minister Gaïd Salah spoke out for the first time that Bouteflikas should be dismissed for health reasons. In addition to the FLN , the RND , which supports the government, also called for Bouteflikas to be dismissed. On March 29, 2019, there was the largest demonstration to date against the president, but also against the rest of the power elite. In the capital, Algiers, between several hundred thousand and one million people took to the streets.

On March 31, 2019, Bouteflika appointed a new government headed by Prime Minister Noureddine Bedoui , made up of just six ministers from the old cabinet and which was supposed to cover the entire political spectrum; Bedoui had been in office since March 11, 2019. However, the demonstrations were also directed against Bedoui's appointment as head of government; several politicians canceled their participation in the new government in protest. The following day he announced his resignation by April 28, 2019 at the latest, the constitutionally last day of his fourth term of office. Even after the announcement, the protests continued. His immediate resignation was announced on April 2nd; on this occasion, Bouteflika appeared personally. The protests continued unabated even after his resignation.

Bouteflika died on September 17, 2021 at the age of 84.

See also

• History of Algeria # The Algerian Republic since independence in 1962

Web links

Commons : Abd al-Aziz Bouteflika  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Official website of the Algerian President ( Memento of April 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (Arabic, French)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Stefan Elhlert: Algeria's President: Do it again, Boutef. deutschlandfunk.de from November 10, 2018, accessed on March 11, 2019
2. ^ ^{A b} Algeria: President Bouteflika does not stand for renewed candidacy . In: Zeit Online (Ed.): Die Zeit . March 11, 2019, ISSN  0044-2070 ( zeit.de [accessed on March 11, 2019]).
3. ↑ ^{a b} Algérie Press Service March 11, 2019: Le président Bouteflika adresse un message à la nation annonçant le report de l'élection présidentielle
4. ↑ ^{a b c} Dalila Belkheir, Khadidja Belkheir: Bouteflika: Maquisard, Ministre et Président de la république. (No longer available online.) Ennahar Online April 5, 2009, archived from the original on October 6, 2011 ; accessed on March 29, 2019 (French). 
5. ^ The Bouteflika system. ARTE , accessed on March 29, 2019 . 
6. ↑ Ahmed Rouaba: Algeria: Hundreds of thousands march for President Bouteflika's removal. BBC , March 29, 2019, accessed March 29, 2019 . 
7. ↑ Mohamed Amjahid: Election in Algeria. Zeit Online, March 6, 2019, accessed March 29, 2019 . 
8. ↑ Abdelaziz Bouteflika. Fanack.com, November 15, 2016, accessed March 29, 2019 . 
9. ^ Abdelaziz Bouteflika (Algeria). UN , accessed March 29, 2019 . 
10. ^ ^{A b c} Martin Evans, John Phillips: Algeria - Anger of the Dispossessed. New Haven, 2007, pp. 255-258
11. ^ Farid Alilat: Algérie: Bouteflika et les femmes ( Algeria: Bouteflika and the women ). In: Jeune Afrique. March 3, 2015, accessed March 13, 2019 (French). 
12. ^ Sept. 29, 2005: People's Democratic Republic of Algeria. IFES, accessed March 29, 2019 . 
13. ↑ Michael Slackman: Algerian Voters Said to Approve President's Postwar Plan. NYT , October 1, 2005, accessed March 29, 2019 . 
14. ↑ Salima Mellah: The re-election of Bouteflikas and what happened behind the scenes. Algeria Watch, May 2004, accessed March 9, 2019 . 
15. ^ Unrest before presidential election. STANDARD Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, April 9, 2004, accessed on March 9, 2019 . 
16. ↑ see Algeria: Bouteflika winner of the presidential election on faz.net, April 10, 2009
17. ↑ AFP : Algérie: vers la suppression de la limitation des mandats présidentiels. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on November 6, 2008 ; accessed on March 9, 2019 (French). 
18. ↑ Parliamentary election: ruling party wins in Algeria at Spiegel Online , May 11, 2012 (accessed on May 12, 2012).
19. ^ Bouteflika wins 4th term as Algerian president. Al Arabiya, April 18, 2014, accessed March 9, 2019 . 
20. ↑ Amir Jalal Zerdoumi, Carlotta Gall: Discontent Swells as President of Algeria Seeks a Fourth Term. NYT, April 13, 2014, accessed on March 29, 2019 . 
21. ↑ Bouteflika's uncertain future. FAZ.net October 21, 2013
22. ↑ Jean-Michel Décugis; Aziz Zémouri: Abdelaziz Bouteflika de retour en Algérie. Le Point, July 16, 2013, accessed March 9, 2019 (French). 
23. ↑ Martin Gehlen / zeit.de Jan 15, 2016: No chance at home.
24. ↑ Mail & Guardian , AFP : Algeria's Bouteflika confirms run for 5th term . News from February 10, 2019 on www.mg.co.za (English)
25. ↑ spiegel.de March 1, 2019: Peacefully against the wall of fear
26. ^ Sofian Philip Naceur: Intransparent power struggle in Algeria. Der Standard , December 12, 2018, accessed March 9, 2019 . 
27. ↑ Christoph Sydow: Algeria is rehearsing the uprising. Spiegel Online, March 4, 2019, accessed on the same day.
28. ↑ Lamine Chikhi, Hamid Ould Ahmed: Bouteflika offers to withdraw within one year of re-election. Reuters, March 4, 2019, accessed on the same day.
29. ^ Opposition in Algeria is boycotting elections. Spiegel Online, March 3, 2019, accessed the day after.
30. ↑ FAZ.net March 9, 2019: Algeria sends the students home.
31. ↑ Protests in Algeria against Bouteflika: the military wants to remove the president. taz.de from March 26, 2019, accessed on March 26, 2019
32. ↑ Algeria: Lone President. sueddeutsche.de of March 27, 2019, accessed on March 27, 2019.
33. ↑ Against "Ali Baba and the 40 robbers". tagesschau.de from March 29, 2019, accessed on March 30, 2019.
34. ↑ So far the largest mass protest in Algiers against Bouteflika. ORF.at , March 29, 2019, accessed on March 30, 2019 . 
35. ^ Algeria: Abdelaziz Bouteflika appoints new government. Zeit Online, April 1, 2019, accessed April 1, 2019 . 
36. ^ President Bouteflika wants to resign by April 28th. Spiegel Online from April 1, 2019, accessed on April 1, 2019.
37. ↑ Algeria: Protests continue. sueddeutsche.de of April 2, 2019, accessed on April 2, 2019
38. ^ President Bouteflika resigns. sueddeutsche.de of April 2, 2019, accessed on April 2, 2019
39. ↑ dpa : Resignation of the elite demanded - further mass protests in Algeria. zdf.de from April 5, 2019, accessed on April 7, 2019
40. ↑ L'ex président Abdelaziz Bouteflika n'est plus , elwatan.com, September 17, 2021, accessed on September 18, 2021.