Boudjemaa Talai (; 17 May 1952 – 6 August 2022) was an Algerian engineer, corporate executive, and politician who served as the Algerian from 2015 to 2017. A member of the National Liberation Front, Talai also served as a member of the

People's National Assembly The People's National Assembly ( ar, المجلس الشعبي الوطني, al-Majlis al-Sha'abi al-Watani; ber, Asqamu Aɣerfan Aɣelnaw; french: Assemblée populaire nationale), abbreviated APN, is the lower house of the Algerian Parliament. ...

from 2017 to 2019.

Biography

Early life and career

Talai was born on 17 May 1952 in the town of Cheffia in

French Algeria French Algeria (french: Alger to 1839, then afterwards; unofficially , ar, الجزائر المستعمرة), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of French colonisation of Algeria. French rule in the region began in 1830 with the ...

. He attended the

University of Annaba Badji Mokhtar - Annaba University ( ar, جامعة باجي مختار - عنابة), also called Annaba University or UBMA, is located in Annaba, Algeria, on the north eastern coast of Algeria. Founded in 1975 and organized into seven faculti ...

, graduating in 1978 with a degree in

civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewa ...

with a specialization in construction materials. From 1978 until 1980, Talai worked as a computer engineer for the Algerian National Iron and Steel Company at the El Hadjar Complex steel plant. From 1980 until 1984, Talai attended

University of Karlsruhe The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT; german: Karlsruher Institut für Technologie) is a public research university in Karlsruhe, Germany. The institute is a national research center of the Helmholtz Association. KIT was created in 2009 ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

on a scholarship, graduating with a postgraduate certificate in construction infrastructure. Following his graduation from the University of Karlsruhe, Talai worked as an engineer at various Algerian construction firms. From 2000 until 2003, Talai was the CEO of Batimetal, an Algerian engineering firm, and from 2003 until 2015, he was the CEO of

Imerys Imerys S.A. is a French Multinational corporation, multinational company which specialises in the production and processing of industrial minerals. It is headquartered in Paris and is a constituent of the CAC Mid 60 index. Imerys has operations ...

, a multinational mineral processing company. He was also on the board of directors of several other companies.

Political career

On 16 May 2015, Talai was appointed by

Abdelaziz Bouteflika Abdelaziz Bouteflika (; ar, عبد العزيز بوتفليقة, ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz Būtaflīqa ; 2 March 1937 – 17 September 2021) was an Algerian politician and diplomat who served as President of Algeria from 1999 to his resignation in 201 ...

, the

president of Algeria The president of the People's Democratic Republic 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. History of the office The Tripoli Program, wh ...

, to be the Minister of Transport and Public Works, replacing Amar Ghoul, who was appointed to another ministry. Talai held this role until 6 April 2017. During his tenure as minister, Talai oversaw the modernization of Algeria's mining railway infrastructure. Following the 2017 Algerian legislative election, Talai was elected to represent the Annaba constituency as a member of the National Liberation Front. He resigned from parliament sometime before June 2019. On 23 September 2019, Talai and several other former ministers from the Bouteflika government were arrested following a corruption scandal which involved businessman

Ali Haddad Ali Haddad, arabic: علي حداد (born 27 January 1965 in Tizi Ouzou) is an Algerian Businessman. He is the co-founder and CEO of ETRHB (''Entreprise des Travaux Routiers, Hydrauliques et Bâtiments''; Road, Hydraulic and Building Works Company ...

. This scandal was part of the cause for the

2019 Algerian protests Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

. On 7 July 2020, Talai was convicted of abuse of office; he was sentenced to three years in the

Koléa Koléa ( ar, القليعة) is a city in Tipaza Province, northern Algeria, located approximately southwest of Algiers. Its population in 2010 was 46,685. History Kolea was founded in 1550 by Hayreddin Barbarossa. In 1838, Lamoricère moved ...

prison and fined 500,000

dinars The dinar () is the principal currency unit in several countries near the Mediterranean Sea, and its historical use is even more widespread. The modern dinar's historical antecedents are the gold dinar and the silver dirham, the main coin o ...

. Talai was released early from prison on 1 June 2022. Talai died on 6 August 2022 at the age of 70 in the Mustapha Pacha hospital in Algiers from a kidney disease.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Talai, Boudjemaa 1952 births 2022 deaths People from El Taref Province People from Annaba University of Annaba alumni Karlsruhe Institute of Technology alumni Algerian engineers 21st-century Algerian politicians Transport ministers of Algeria Public works ministers of Algeria National Liberation Front (Algeria) politicians Members of the People's National Assembly Algerian chief executives