General
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...
Mohammad Oufkir ( ar, محمد أوفقير; 14 May 1920 − 16 August 1972) was a
Moroccan senior military officer who held many important governmental posts. It is believed that he was assassinated for his alleged role in the failed
1972 Moroccan coup attempt
Year 197 ( CXCVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Magius and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 950 ''Ab urbe condi ...
.
Biography
Mohamed Oufkir was a native of , in the
Tafilalt region, the stronghold of high
Atlas
An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth.
Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geogra ...
Moroccan
Berbers
, image = File:Berber_flag.svg
, caption = The Berber ethnic flag
, population = 36 million
, region1 = Morocco
, pop1 = 14 million to 18 million
, region2 = Algeria
, pop2 ...
, in southeastern Morocco, where his father was appointed
pasha
Pasha, Pacha or Paşa ( ota, پاشا; tr, paşa; sq, Pashë; ar, باشا), in older works sometimes anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignita ...
by
Hubert Lyautey in 1910.
He studied at the Berber College of Azrou near
Meknes
Meknes ( ar, مكناس, maknās, ; ber, ⴰⵎⴽⵏⴰⵙ, amknas; french: Meknès) is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco, located in northern central Morocco and the sixth largest city by population in the kingdom. Founded in the 11th c ...
. In 1939, he entered the Military Academy of Dar El Beida (
Meknes
Meknes ( ar, مكناس, maknās, ; ber, ⴰⵎⴽⵏⴰⵙ, amknas; french: Meknès) is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco, located in northern central Morocco and the sixth largest city by population in the kingdom. Founded in the 11th c ...
), and in 1941, he enlisted as a reserve lieutenant in the
French Army
History
Early history
The first permanent army, paid with regular wages, instead of feudal levies, was established under Charles VII of France, Charles VII in the 1420 to 1430s. The Kings of France needed reliable troops during and after the ...
.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, he served with distinction in the
French Expeditionary Corps (4th Regiment of Moroccan
Tirailleurs) on the
Italian front in 1944, where he won the
Croix de Guerre
The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...
. He was also awarded the
Silver Star
The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...
in 1944 by
U.S. Army Major General Alfred M. Gruenther, General
Mark W. Clark's chief of staff, after the
Battle of Monte Cassino
The Battle of Monte Cassino, also known as the Battle for Rome and the Battle for Cassino, was a series of four assaults made by the Allies against German forces in Italy during the Italian Campaign of World War II. The ultimate objective was ...
. After the war, he fought with the
French Far East Expeditionary Corps
The French Far East Expeditionary Corps (french: Corps Expéditionnaire Français en Extrême-Orient, CEFEO) was a colonial expeditionary force of the French Union Army that was initially formed in French Indochina in 1945 during the Pacific W ...
in the
First Indochina War from 1947 to 1949, where his bravery was dubbed "legendary". In 1949 he was promoted captain and named to the
Legion d'Honneur.
[Stephen Smith, ''Oufkir, un destin marocain'', Hachette Littératures, 2002]
As the right-hand man of King
Hassan II in the 1960s and early 1970s, Oufkir led government supervision of politicians, unionists and the religious establishment. He forcefully repressed political protest through police and military clampdowns, pervasive government espionage, show trials, and numerous extralegal measures such as
killings and
forced disappearance
An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person by a state or political organization, or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organi ...
s. A feared figure in dissident circles, he was considered extraordinarily close to power. One of his most famous victims is believed to have been celebrated Moroccan politician
Mehdi Ben Barka, who had "
disappeared" in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
in 1965. A French court convicted him of the murder.
In 1967, Oufkir was named interior minister, vastly increasing his power through direct control over most of the security establishment. After a
failed republican military coup in 1971, he was named chief of staff and minister of defense, and set about purging the army and promoting his personal supporters. His domination of the Moroccan political scene was now near-complete, with the king ever more reliant on him to contain mounting discontent.
L. Ron Hubbard
Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (March 13, 1911 – January 24, 1986) was an American author, primarily of science fiction and fantasy stories, who is best known for having founded the Church of Scientology. In 1950, Hubbard authored '' Dianetic ...
and the
Sea Org, the paramilitary upper eschelon of the
Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is a group of interconnected corporate entities and other organizations devoted to the practice, administration and dissemination of Scientology, which is variously defined as a cult, a business, or a new religious ...
which had fled to Morocco after being denied entry to most European Mediterranean ports, sought to convert Oukfir by providing him with
E-meters to use as
lie detectors
''Lie Detectors'' is an American television series broadcast by Game Show Network. The series, hosted by Rove McManus, premiered on April 20, 2015.
Each episode features a panel of three comedians presenting a variety of random facts and lies ov ...
to apprehend coup participants.
Oufkir was accused of plotting the
1972 Moroccan coup attempt
Year 197 ( CXCVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Magius and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 950 ''Ab urbe condi ...
against
King Hassan II. Though official sources claimed that the general had committed suicide in response to the failure of the coup, his daughter,
Malika Oufkir, writing in her book ''
Stolen Lives
''Stolen Lives: Twenty Years In A Desert Jail'' (1999) (original title in French: ''La Prisonnière'' or ''The Prisoner'') is an autobiographical book by Malika Oufkir, about a woman who was essentially a prisoner until she was 38.
Summary
The b ...
'', claims to have seen five bullet wounds in her father's body, all in positions not consistent with suicide. It is generally accepted outside of official circles that Oufkir was executed by forces loyal to the Moroccan monarchy.
On orders of the king, Oufkir's entire family was then sent to secret desert prison camps. They were not released until 1991, after American and European pressure on the government. After five years under close police supervision, they fled to France. This story is detailed by Oufkir's daughter Malika in the book ''
Stolen Lives: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail''. His wife Fatima and his son Raouf also published their accounts of the period.
Honours
* Officier de la
Légion d'honneur
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...
(1949)
* Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur (1947)
*
Croix de guerre 1939-1945
Croix (French for "cross") may refer to:
Belgium
* Croix-lez-Rouveroy, a village in municipality of Estinnes in the province of Hainaut
France
* Croix, Nord, in the Nord department
* Croix, Territoire de Belfort, in the Territoire de Belfort depa ...
*
Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieures
The ''Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieurs'' (War Cross for foreign operational theatres), also called the ''Croix de Guerre TOE'' for short, is a French military award denoting citations earned in combat in foreign countri ...
*
Silver Star
The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...
["Mohammed Oufkir, son of the man the French had attracted in the Tafilalt on the eve of the Protectorate, was awarded the ''Croix de guerre'' and the American Silver Star.", C. R. Pennell, ''Morocco since 1830: a history'']
p.267
/ref>
He was awarded a total of seven citations, including three palmes (citations in Army Orders).
See also
* Republicanism in Morocco
Morocco, currently a monarchy, has known some attempts to establish republican forms of government. Some of those attempts are continuing to this day:
*Morisco refugees from Andalusia formed in Salé and Rabat the '' Republic of Bou Regreg,'' ...
* Years of lead
* Makhzen
Sources
* Stephen Smith, ''Oufkir, un destin marocain'', Hachette Littératures, 2002
* Malika Oufkir and Michèle Fitoussi (2001), ''Stolen Lives: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail'', Miramax Books ( )
Notes
External links
BBC
Article on Malika Oufkir and recorded interview
Oprah Winfrey's Book Club
The Oufkir family: Where are they now?
On three Moroccan weeklies banned in 2000, after articles tied the ruling USFP
The Socialist Union of Popular Forces ( ar, الاتحاد الاشتراكي للقوات الشعبية, translit=Al-Ittihad Al-Ishtirakiy Lilqawat Al-Sha'abiyah; zgh, ⵜⴰⵎⵓⵏⵜ ⵜⴰⵏⵎⵍⴰⵢⵜ ⵏⵉⵖⴰⵍⵍⵏ ⵉⴳ� ...
party to Oufkir's plot
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oufkir, Mohamed
1920 births
Moroccan Berber politicians
Politics of Morocco
Human rights abuses in Morocco
1972 deaths
Government ministers of Morocco
Deaths by firearm in Morocco
Moroccan military personnel
French military personnel of World War II
People from Bouarfa, Morocco
Moroccan generals
People of Moroccan intelligence agencies
Berber Moroccans