Benyoucef Benkhedda (; February 23, 1920 – February 4, 2003) was an Algerian politician. He headed the third GPRA exile government of the National Liberation Front (FLN), acting as a leader during the

Algerian War 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 ...

(1954–62). At the end of the war, he was briefly the de jure leader of the country, however he was quickly sidelined by more conservative figures.

Early life

Benyoucef Benkhedda was born in 1920 in Berrouaghia, Médéa Province.Fondation Benyoucef Benkhedda
Biography The son of a

Qadi A qadi (; ) is the magistrate or judge of a Sharia court, who also exercises extrajudicial functions such as mediation, guardianship over orphans and minors, and supervision and auditing of public works. History The term '' was in use from ...

,"The Brothers"
''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

''. March 16, 1962. he attended both the local

Madrasah Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary education or higher learning ...

and French colonial school. He later attended the Ibn Rochd

lycée In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 14. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for students between ...

at Blida where he met Algerian nationalists such as Mohamed Lamine Debaghine, Saad Dahlab, Abane Ramdane, Ali Boumendjel and M'hamed Yazid. "You are the knives which we sharpen against France!" was the oft repeated cry of the college headmaster. Having received his

baccalauréat The ''baccalauréat'' (; ), often known in France colloquially as the ''bac'', is a French national academic qualification that students can obtain at the completion of their secondary education (at the end of the ''lycée'') by meeting certain ...

, he entered the University of Medicine and Pharmacy of

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

in 1943, and after an interruption of his studies, obtained his degree in

pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medication, medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it ...

in 1953. In 1942 he joined the Algerian People's Party (PPA) where he met pioneering nationalists such as

Messali Hadj Ahmed Ben Messali Hadj (; May 16, 1898 – June 3, 1974; commonly known as Messali Hadj, ) was an Algerian nationalist politician dedicated to the independence of his homeland from French colonial rule. He is often called the "father" of Algeria ...

, Belkacem Radjef, Hocine Lahouel and many others. A year later he was arrested and detained by local SDECE agents for campaigning against

conscription Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it conti ...

Algerians Algerians () are the citizens and nationals of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria. The majority of the country's population is composed of Arabs who make up 85% of the population, and there is a Berber minority of 15%. The term also ...

in the war against

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

as part of the "unsubmissives of Blida". He was released eight months later.

Algerian War

He was a member of the central committee of the PPA- MTLD in 1947 and served as the

general secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

between 1951 and 1954. In November 1954 he was arrested again and released in May 1955, due to the intervention of French liberals"New Team"
''Time''. September 8, 1961. (who included the

Pied-Noir The (; ; : ) are an ethno-cultural group of people of French and other European descent who were born in Algeria during the period of French colonial rule from 1830 to 1962. Many of them departed for mainland France during and after the ...

mayor of Algiers, Jacques Chevallier), when he joined the new National Liberation Front. He became an adviser to Abane Ramdane in Algiers. In August 1956 the Congress of Soummam appointed him a member of the Algerian National Revolutionary Council and the Committee of Action and Co-ordination of the

Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic The Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic (, ; French: ''Gouvernement provisoire de la République algérienne'', GPRA) was the government-in-exile of the Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN) during the latter part of the Algeria ...

(GPRA) along with Abane, Dahlab Larbi Ben M'hidi, and Krim Belkacem. He, Abane and Ben M'hidi comprised the political and military triumvirate which directed the revolutionary Autonomous Zone. Algiers had become the capital of the resistance. He and Abane were responsible for the creation of many projects such as the newspaper

El Moudjahid ''El Moudjahid'' ("The Martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as ...

, the creation of the General Union of Algerian Workers (UGTA) and the writing of Kassaman, which would become the national anthem of Algeria. He miraculously escaped capture by the

paratroopers A paratrooper or military parachutist is a soldier trained to conduct military operations by parachuting directly into an area of operations, usually as part of a large airborne forces unit. Traditionally paratroopers fight only as light inf ...

of General

Jacques Massu Jacques Émile Massu (; 5 May 1908 – 26 October 2002) was a French general who fought in World War II, the First Indochina War, the Algerian War and the Suez Crisis. He led French troops in the Battle of Algiers, first supporting and later ...

by use of the sewer system of Algiers, fleeing the city after the capture of Ben M'hidi by paratroopers under Colonel

Marcel Bigeard Marcel Bigeard (; February 14, 1916 – June 18, 2010), personal radio call-sign "Bruno", was a French military officer and politician who fought in World War II, the First Indochina War and the Algerian War. He was one of the commanders in the ...

, Ben M'hidi was later killed while imprisoned by soldiers of Paul Aussaresses. He went abroad in the name of the Liberation front and accomplished much for the organisation such as visiting the capitals of the

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

states in 1957–58,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 1959,

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

in 1961 where he attended the 1st Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement as a delegate representing a sovereign state,

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

in 1960 and two visits to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. In a confidential letter to Richard Nolte, director of the Institute of Current World Affairs, Benkhedda is described as an "important terrorist commander" and "intellectual of Marxist formation". On August 9, 1961 he was appointed the president of the provisional government and completed negotiations with France, which were started by

Ferhat Abbas Ferhat Abbas (; ALA-LC: ; 24 August 1899 – 24 December 1985) was an Algerian politician who acted in a provisional capacity as the then yet-to-become independent country's Prime Minister from 1958 to 1961, as well as the first President of the ...

. A cease-fire was proclaimed the day before France officially recognised the national integrity of Algeria. He was welcomed as the country's leader by a jubilant Algerian population on July 3, 1962, the day that independence was recognised officially by France.

Later political career

A crisis emerged later that month between the provisional government and

Ahmed Ben Bella Ahmed Ben Bella (; 25 December 1916 – 11 April 2012) was an Algerian politician, soldier and socialist revolutionary who served as the head of government of Algeria from 27 September 1962 to 15 September 1963 and then the first president of ...

, supported by the 'Frontier Army' and Ben Khedda was forced to stand down to avoid a "fratricidal bloodbath". In 1976 he, with three leaders of the war of liberation (

, Hocine Lahouel, Kheir-Eddine) signed a proclamation which set about to create a constitutional national assembly, elected by

universal suffrage Universal suffrage or universal franchise ensures the right to vote for as many people bound by a government's laws as possible, as supported by the " one person, one vote" principle. For many, the term universal suffrage assumes the exclusion ...

to create a national charter ( granted next year). The four signatories were placed under house arrest and had their property seized. He was released in 1979. He wrote probably the most authoritative and accurate book about the twentieth century genesis of the Algerian movement for independence. "Les Origines du 1er Novembre 1954", Editions Dahlab, 1989. Under the government of Chadli Bendjedid which claimed to be a

multi-party system In political science, a multi-party system is a political system where more than two meaningfully-distinct political parties regularly run for office and win elections. Multi-party systems tend to be more common in countries using proportional ...

, also in 1989 he created 'El Oumma' with Abderahmane Kiouane and other friends from the liberation war. Its objective was the implementation of the

Declaration of 1 November 1954 The "Declaration of 1 November 1954" is the first independentist appeal addressed by the National Liberation Front (Algeria), National Liberation Front (FLN) to the Algerian people, marking the start of the Algerian Revolution and the armed action ...

, that is: "The sovereign and democratic independent Algerian State within

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

ic principles". The aim of 'El Oumma' was to work towards a coming together of the Islamist and

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

parties for an Islamic society. The president, Liamine Zeroual, who had succeeded Chadli promulgated a law prohibiting the use of the word "Islam" by the parties under penalty of dissolution.New Laws Affecting the Stakes and Fairness of the Elections
-

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

April 3, 1997 'El Oumma' dissolved, unsuccessful, in 1997. At the same time he founded the 'Tadhamoune' with

Sheikh Sheikh ( , , , , ''shuyūkh'' ) is an honorific title in the Arabic language, literally meaning "elder (administrative title), elder". It commonly designates a tribal chief or a Muslim ulama, scholar. Though this title generally refers to me ...

Ahmed Sahnoune with the aim of denouncing the state because of serious

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

violations after the military coup of January 1992.

Later life and popular recognition

He lived a quiet life for the rest of his days, running a pharmacy in Hydra, Algiers. After a long illness, Benyoucef Benkhedda died in his home in Algiers on February 4, 2003. A large crowd turned out for his funeral and he was buried at Sidi Yahia cemetery next to long-time companion Saad Dahlab. 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 ...

was later named in his honour. He had three sons.

Bibliography

* 1986 - ''Les Accords d'Evian'' - OPU, Algiers. * 1989 - ''Les origines du 1er novembre 1954'' - ed. Dahlab, Algiers. * 1997 - ''L'Algérie à l'indépendance: la crise de 1962'' - Dahlab, Algiers. * 2000 - ''Abane-Ben M'hidi, leur apport à la révolution algérienne'' - ed. Dahlab, Algiers. * 2002 - ''Alger, capitale de la résistance 1956-1957'' - ed. Houma, Algiers.

References

External links

Algerian literature website, an interview with Benkhedda

"The Declaration of Benkhedda" at the time of the 1962 crisis

Website of the Benkhedda Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benkhedda, Benyoucef 1920 births 2003 deaths People from Berrouaghia Algerian People's Party politicians Movement for the Triumph of Democratic Liberties politicians National Liberation Front (Algeria) politicians Presidents of Algeria Algerian exiles 21st-century Algerian people