Driss Basri (, 8 November 1938 – 27 August 2007) was a Moroccan politician who served as

interior minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and iden ...

from 1979 to 1999. His name has been associated with the Years of Lead in Morocco.Mort de Driss Basri, symbole des années de plomb
, '' RFI (audio interviews of Basri)

Early life and career

Basri came from a poor rural family originally from a village near Settat. His father emigrated to Rabat to work as a "Chaouch", a low rank warden in the administration. Basri never completed secondary school (he did not obtain the

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 ...

) and joined the police as an officer. Thanks to a relative from Casablanca who was the friend and director of the cabinet of General Mohamed Oufkir, he was promoted in the early 1960s, as the director of the cabinet of

Ahmed Dlimi Ahmed Dlimi (; 16 July 1931 in Zaggota, Sidi Kacem Province – 25 January 1983, Marrakesh) was a Moroccan general under the rule of Hassan II. After General Mohamed Oufkir's 1972 assassination, he became Hassan II's right-hand man. He led ...

, who supervised the Moroccan secret police ( DST, then named CAB1). This was during an era which saw the " disappearance" of

Socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

opponent

Mehdi Ben Barka Mehdi Ben Barka (; 1920 – disappeared 29 October 1965) was a Moroccan nationalist, Arab socialist, politician, revolutionary, anti-imperialist, head of the left-wing National Union of Popular Forces (UNFP) and secretary of the Tricontinenta ...

in Paris in 1965.Affaire Ben Barka : Driss Basri chez le juge
''

Le Figaro () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in several plays by polymath Pierre Beaumarchais, Beaumarchais (1732–1799): ''Le Barbier de Séville'', ''The Guilty Mother, La Mère coupable'', ...

'', 23 May 2006 Aged 24, he was following in parallel law studies, and graduated in the

University of Grenoble The (, ''Grenoble Alps University'', abbr. UGA) is a Grands établissements, ''grand établissement'' in Grenoble, France. Founded in 1339, it is the third largest university in France with about 60,000 students and over 3,000 researchers. Es ...

in France. Pierre Haski
La mort dans l'impunité de Driss Basri, le "superflic" d'Hassan II
'' Rue 89'', 27 August 2007 Dlimi advised Basri that if he was to be further promoted he needed a degree, he then enrolled in university and obtained a bachelor in law. In 1973, he censored Mohamed Choukri's autobiography, ''For Bread Alone''. Basri was then appointed as Secretary of state for Interior Affairs in 1974, becoming

's right-hand man. Basri became the iron fist of Hassan II during the Years of Lead. In 1979, Driss Basri was promoted to the post of interior minister in the government of Ahmed Osman, a post he held in all successive governments until 1999. Beginning in 1985, he held the post of minister of information as well. Basri went on to earn the confidence of King

Hassan II Hassan, Hasan, Hassane, Haasana, Hassaan, Asan, Hassun, Hasun, Hassen, Hasson or Hasani may refer to: People *Hassan (given name), Arabic given name and a list of people with that given name *Hassan (surname), Arabic, Jewish, Irish, and Scotti ...

, and during his time in office, the Ministry of Interior came to be known as the "mother of all ministries".Maroc: l'ex-puissant ministre de l'Intérieur de Hassan II inhumé à Rabat
, AFP ('' Jeuneafrique.com''), 29 August 2007 . He was considered by his detractors as a hindrance to the democratisation of Morocco in the 1980s and 1990s. He was accused of creating "administrative" parties to counter the traditional nationalist and popular parties, and of rigging elections in favour of loyalists. Under his term some demonstrations were harshly repressed by police, such as in 1981 in Casablanca and 1990 in Fez.

Exile

Three months after Hassan II's death in 1999, Basri was dismissed by the newly-enthroned king Mohammed VI on 9 November 1999. This decision briefly fueled hopes for the democratisation of Morocco. Basri reportedly had an animosity with Fouad Ali El Himma, Mohammed's close friend from school. They had conflictual relations during the time in which El Himma worked at the ministry of the Interior. After being dismissed, Basri went into self-exile in Paris. In March 2004, his Moroccan passport was withdrawn, effectively making him an illegal alien in France. However, he still travelled internationally, and was not disturbed by the

French police Law enforcement in France is centralized at the national level. Recently, legislation has allowed local governments to hire their own police officers which are called the ''Municipal Police (France), police municipale''. There are two nation ...

. He was heard by judge Patrick Ramaël in May 2006, as a witness, concerning the kidnapping of

. Basri declared to the magistrate that he had not been linked to the Ben Barka affair. He added that "it is possible that the King knew. It is legitimate to think that

de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

possessed some information…"

Death

Basri died in Paris on 27 August 2007. He was buried in

Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ) is the Capital (political), capital city of Morocco and the List of cities in Morocco, country's seventh-largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million. ...

on 29 August; then-interior minister Chakib Benmoussa was the only representative of the government at the funeral.Aherdan L'opposant Berber, Akhanoouch, les gens du gulf, et la belle famille les FASSI FIHRI.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Basri, Driss 1938 births 2007 deaths Directors of intelligence agencies Interior ministers of Morocco Moroccan exiles Deaths from cancer in France People from Settat Grenoble Alpes University alumni Moroccan police officers People of Moroccan intelligence agencies Moroccan expatriates in France

Early life and career

Exile

Death

See also

References