Algeria’s former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika dies at 84
Former Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika died on Friday at the age of 84, according to the presidency, more than two years after stepping down in the face of mass protests and the army.
Bouteflika, a veteran of Algeria’s independence war, ruled the North African country for two decades before stepping down in April 2019 following street protests against his bid for a fifth term.
Before his death; he had been rarely seen in public since suffering a stroke in 2013.
Following Bouteflika’s resignation; authorities launched unprecedented investigations into corruption; resulting in the imprisonment of several senior officials, including Bouteflika’s powerful brother and adviser, Said. Said was sentenced to 15 years in prison on charges of plotting against the government.
Following Algeria’s independence from France in 1962, Bouteflika became the country’s first foreign minister and a key role in the Non-Aligned Movement, which gave Africa, Asia, and Latin America a global voice.
In 1974; when Bouteflika was president of the United Nations General Assembly, he invited former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to speak to the body; marking a watershed moment in international recognition of the Palestinian cause.
He also asked that China be given a seat at the United Nations and denounced South Africa’s apartheid regime.
He championed post-colonial states; challenged US hegemony; and aided in the transformation of his country into a hotbed of 1960s idealism.
Elected president in 1999; he managed to negotiate a truce with Islamists and launched a national reconciliation process allowing the country to restore peace.
Little is known about his private life. Official records mention no wife, though some accounts say a marriage took place in 1990. For years Bouteflika lived with his mother, Mansouriah, in an apartment in Algiers.
