Abdelhamid Brahimi ( / ''ʿabdu l-ḥamīd Brāhīmī''; 2 April 1936 – 15 August 2021) was an Algerian politician who first served as minister of planning before becoming the prime minister of

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

under

Chadli Bendjedid Chadli Bendjedid (; ALA-LC: ''ash-Shādhilī bin Jadīd''; 14 April 1929 – 6 October 2012) was an Algerian military officer and politician who served as the third President of Algeria. His presidential term of office ran from 9 February 1979 ...

. He served as PM from 22 January 1984, until 5 November 1988.

Early life

Brahimi was born on 2 April 1936 in Mila, and later served during the

Algerian War of Independence The Algerian War (also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence) ''; '' (and sometimes in Algeria as the ''War of 1 November'') was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (Algeri ...

in the ranks of the National Liberation Army.

Political career

After the

, he was appointed wali of the

wilaya A wilayah ( or ''wilāya'', plural ; Urdu, Pashto and ; ) is an administrative division, usually translated as "state", "province" or occasionally as "governorate". The word comes from the Arabic root "''w-l-y''", "to govern": a ''wāli''—"g ...

Annaba Province Annaba () is a province ('' wilaya'') in the north-eastern corner of Algeria. Its capital, Annaba, is Algeria's main port for mineral exports. History In 1984 El Taref Province was carved out from its territory. Administrative divisions The ...

, and was later made representative of the gas company

Sonatrach Sonatrach (; ) is the national state-owned oil company of Algeria. Founded in 1963, it is known today to be the largest company in Africa with 154 subsidiaries, and often referred as the first African oil "major". In 2021, Sonatrach was the seven ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1976. He briefly taught at the

University of Algiers The University of Algiers 1 (), commonly called Benyoucef Benkhedda, is a public research university based in Algiers, Algeria. Founded in 1909 from the amalgamation of different French colonial educational institutions, it has become the oldes ...

until 1975. He then served as Minister of Planning, before becoming

Prime Minister of Algeria The First minister of Algeria is the head of government of Algeria. Nadir Larbaoui has been the prime minister since 11 November 2023. The prime minister is appointed by the president of Algeria, along with other ministers and members of the ...

from 1984 to 1988. During his time as prime minister, he identified himself with

economic liberalism Economic liberalism is a political and economic ideology that supports a market economy based on individualism and private property in the means of production. Adam Smith is considered one of the primary initial writers on economic liberalism ...

and accelerated the reform process, although he controversially introduced a Family Code which was alleged to represent Islamist pressure and not the scientific character which he had identified with. He later stated that the president had faced internal opposition from senior members in the FLN, which led to them looking for other candidates and increasing dissent. In response, Bendjedid purposefully instigated trouble in October 1988, which provoked a national crisis and led to Brahimi being sacked. In the spring of 1990 he announced that the FLN's corruption in government had cost $26 billion, which the

Islamic Salvation Front The Islamic Salvation Front (; , FIS) was an Islamist political party in Algeria. The party had two major leaders representing its two bases of its support; Abbassi Madani appealed to pious small businessmen, and Ali Belhadj appealed to the a ...

heavily promoted in the lead up to the elections in June 1990.

Exile and return

After his ministerial role, he went into self-imposed exile in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

for 26 years. He went into exile after fearing for his life due to

death threats A death threat is a threat, often made Anonymity, anonymously, by one person or a group of people to kill another person or group of people. These threats are often designed to intimidate victims in order to Psychological manipulation, manipulat ...

from other parties, and was unable to return as his Algerian passport was revoked. During his stay, he taught at various universities like

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

and

Washington University Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

. He returned to Algeria in 2016 aboard a

Royal Air Maroc Royal Air Maroc (RAM, ; ; ) is the Morocco, Moroccan national carrier, as well as the country largest airline, ranking among the largest in Africa. RAM is wholly owned by the Cabinet of Morocco, Moroccan Government, and has its headquarters o ...

plane, arriving in

Houari Boumediene Airport Houari Boumediene International Airport () , also known as Algiers Airport or Algiers International Airport, is the main international airport serving Algiers, the capital of Algeria. It is located east southeast of the city. The airport is n ...

. He died on 15 August 2021 in the Central Army Hospital in Algiers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brahimi, Abdelhamid 1936 births 2021 deaths People from Constantine, Algeria National Liberation Front (Algeria) politicians Government ministers of Algeria 21st-century Algerian people