Chadli Bendjedid

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3rd President of Algeria
Chadli Bendjedid

In office February 9, 1979 – January 11, 1992
Preceded by	Houari Boumedienne
Succeeded by	Muhammad Boudiaf

Born	April 14, 1929 (1929-04-14) (age 79) Zeitouna, Annaba, Algeria
Political party	FLN
Spouse	Halima Ben Aissa

Chadli Bendjedid (Arabic: شاذلي بن جديد‎) (born April 14, 1929 at Bouteldja^[1], near Annaba) was President of Algeria from February 9, 1979 to January 11, 1992. He served in the French Army as a noncommissioned officer and fought in Indo-China when the rebellion began there in 1954.^[1] He defected to the National Liberation Front (FLN) at the beginning of the Algerian War of Independence. A protege of Houari Boumediene, Bendjedid was rewarded with the military command of the Oran, Algeria region in 1964.^[1] After independence he rose through the ranks, becoming head of the 2nd military region in 1964 and Colonel in 1969^[2]. He was minister of defense from November 1978 to February 1979 and became president following the death of Boumédiènne. Bendjadid 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.^[1]

In office, Bendjedid reduced the state's role in the economy and eased government surveillance of citizens. In the late 1980s, with the economy failing due to rapidly falling oil prices, tension rose between elements of the regime who supported Bendjedid's economic liberalization policies, and those who wanted a return to the statist model. In October, 1988, youth marches protesting the regime’s austerity policies, and shouting slogans against Benjedid, evolved into massive rioting which spread to Oran, Annaba and other cities; the military’s brutal suppression of the rioters left several hundred dead. Perhaps as a political survival strategy, Bendjedid then called for and began to implement a transition towards multi-party democracy. But, in 1991, the military intervened to stop elections from bringing the Islamist Front Islamique du Salut (FIS) to power, forcing Bendjedid out of office and sparking a long and bloody Algerian Civil War.

[edit] Politics

In Algerian politics, Chadli Bendjedid is considered as a symbol for the nations numerous failures as his term in office coincided with a halt in the industrial development policy, militant socialism and engaged third world politics characteristic of the Houari Boumedienne era as well as with the adoption of various policies that transformed the country into a consumer society under the slogan 'For a better life'.

Chadli Bendjedid is also often held responsible for the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in Algeria as contrarily to his predecessor Houari Boumedienne, he tolerated the rise of various Islamist grassroots movements during the eighties as well as the legalizing of the FIS following the riots of October 1988; various conspiracy theories have accused him of being involved in a plot aiming at transforming Algeria into a Muslim fundamentalist state.