Ahmed Ben Bella

Ahmed Ben Bella
أحمد بن بلّة
1st President of Algeria
In office
15 September 1963 – 19 June 1965
Preceded by None
Succeeded by Houari Boumediene (as Chairman of the Revolutionary Council)
President of the Council of Ministers
In office
27 September 1962 – 20 September 1963
Preceded by Benyoucef Benkhedda (as Head of Government)
Succeeded by Mohamed Ben Ahmed Abdelghani (1979, as Prime Minister)
Personal details
Born (1916-12-25)25 December 1916
Maghnia, French Algeria
Died 11 April 2012(2012-04-11) (aged 95)
Algiers, Algeria
Political party FLN
Spouse(s) Zohra Michelle Sellami[1]
(1971–2008)[2]
Children Mehdia Ben Bella
Noria Ben Bella

Ahmed Ben Bella (Arabic: أحمد بن بلّة‎ Aḥmad bin Billah; 25 December 1916 – 11 April 2012) was an Algerian socialist soldier and revolutionary who was the first President of Algeria from 1963 to 1965.

Youth

Ahmed Ben Bella was born in Maghnia, in the former department of Oran, western Algeria,[3] on 25 December 1916,[4] during the height of the French colonial period.

He was the son of a farmer and small businessman, who supported his family through this economic activities. He had five brothers and two sisters. Of them, the oldest one died because of the wounds of the First World War which he fought for France, other two died because of illness and one disappeared in France at 1940, in the mayhem of the Nazi victory.[5]

Ben Bella started his studies in Maghnia, where he went to the French school, and continued them in the city of Tlemcen, where he became aware of racial discrimination, disturbed by the discrimination towards Arabs by his European teacher. As it, he started complaining and chafed against imperialism and colonialism and criticized French cultural influence, beginning also his participation in the nationalist movement.[6]

Service with French Army

Ben Bella volunteered for service in the French Army in 1936. The Army was one of the few avenues of advancement for Algerians under colonial rule and voluntary enlistment was common. Posted to Marseille he played center midfield for Olympique de Marseille in 1939–1940.[7] His only appearance for the club was in a game against FC Antibes in the Coupe de France on 29 April 1940 in Cannes.[8] He also scored a goal during the game.[9][10] The club officials offered him a professional spot on the team, but he rejected the offer. He also played for IRB Maghnia.[11]

Ben Bella enlisted in the army again in 1940, believing that this would give Algerians an equal treatment. Consequently, he fought for the French during World War II, and he was even awarded twice. He received the ″Croix de guerre″ after manning an anti-aircraft post during the Nazi invasion in 1940. He was demobilised after the fall of France but joined a Free French regiment of Moroccan tirailleurs (infantry) with whom he saw service throughout the Italian campaign. There, he was again awarded because of his bravery demonstrated at Monte Cassino, where he dragged one wounded CO to safety, assuming control of his battalion.[12] For this,he was promoted to the rank of warrant officer, and he received the ″Médaille militaire″, the highest decoration of the Free French forces, directly from Charles de Gaulle.[13]

On May 8, 1945, while France was celebrating Germany’s capitulation, big protests started to occur in the Algerian town of Setif. The cruelties of colonialism became worse during the wartime period, prompting more Algerian people to stand up against them. Protests turned to five days of rape and killing, and according to the official report deaths were more than 100 Europeans and around 1,500 Algerians.[5] The anti-colonialists however put the number of Algerian deaths as being around ten thousand. This shocked Ben Bella and his Algerian companions, as they realized that they would not start receiving an equal treatment even after their services in war.

Before independence

First organization against French regime

After the events of Setif, Ben Bella returned to Algeria, reincorporating into its political life and into the opposition movement against the French regime. French authorities sent assailants with the intentions of assassinating him on his farm. The attempt to end his life failed, but Ben Bella’s farm was confiscated and he had to hide. After the Government election of Marcel-Edmond Naegelen, he became part of a group that thought democratic independence through peaceful means was something illusory. Together with Messali Hadj's and his party, he founded the Organisation Spéciale (OS), a paramilitary organization whose aim was to take up arms against the French colonial regime as quickly as possible. This was the immediate predecessor of the National Liberation Front. In 1949, he robbed a bank in Orán to gain funds for the organization, but he was eventually caught and sent to jail in Blida prison in 1951,sentenced to eight years imprisonment. He escaped soon afterwards, making his way to Tunisia and then to Egypt, reaching Cairo by 1952.

At the outbreak of the Algerian War in 1954, Ben Bella was based in Cairo where he had become one of the nine members of the Revolutionary Committee of Unity and Action which headed the Front de Liberation Nationale (FLN), founded on November that year, during a secret meeting of Algerian leaders in Switzerland, in which they also ordered armed insurrection against the French colonists[14] that would start the war between Algeria and France.

Algerian War

Ben Bella (right) after his arrest by the French army.

Benn Bella played an important role on the war leading the FLN, organizing the shipment of foreign weapons and coordinating political strategy. Although he was not present in Algeria, attempts against his life persisted. In 1956, he refused to receive a package delivered by taxi to his hotel at Cairo, and as the taxi drove away, a bomb exploded inside it, killing the driver. Later the same year, while in his hotel at Tripoli, a French gunman entered to his room and fired, wounding but not killing him. The shooter was killed by guards while fleeing, on the Libyan border. On October, he was arrested in Algiers by French military authorities, who intercepted the plane where Ben Bella was in, arresting him. He was kept prisoner until the Evian accords in 1962, and released on July 5. His arrest led to the resignation of Alain Savary, who was opposed to Guy Mollet's policies. Being captive dissociated his image from the errors that FLN had committed, so when he gained his freedom back, after the Evian agreement, he had an intact reputation.[14]

When Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser brought Ben Bella to speak for the first time to an Egyptian audience, he broke into tears because he could not speak standard Arabic. Like many Arab revolutionaries of the time, he would come to describe himself as a "Nasserist" and developed close ties to Egypt even before independence was achieved. Nasser's material, moral and political support of the Algerian movement would come to cause Nasser troubles, as it played a major role in France's choice to wage war on him during the 1956 Suez Crisis.

Due to Pakistan's support for the FLN, Ben Bella had been given a Pakistani diplomatic passport to make his foreign travels possible in the face of the international manhunt for him undertaken by the French and their allies.[15][16][17][18] Ben Bella also traveled on a Pakistani diplomatic passport during the years of his exile from Algeria in the 1980s.[17]

Algerian independence

Ben Bella's regime

Ben Bella with Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, Cuba, 1962
Egypt´s president Nasser with Tunisia's Bourkiba and Ben Bella, 1963

After Algeria's independence, Ben Bella quickly became more popular. In June 1962, he challenged the leadership of Premier Benyoucef Benkhedda; this led to several disputes among his rivals in the FLN, which were quickly suppressed by Ben Bella's rapidly growing number of supporters, most notably within the armed forces, whose chief was Houari Boumédiènne. By September, Bella was in control of Algeria in all but name. He was elected premier in a one-sided election on 20 September, which was recognized by the United States on 29 September. Algeria was admitted as the 109th member of the United Nations on 8 October 1962.

As prime minister, Ben Bella turned on legalizing the seizures of autogestion which workers had spontaneously started. In March 1963 he drew up (with his circle of advisers) a set of decrees to nationalize all previously European-owned land. In his words, the “Tripoli program remained a dead letter, and independence and revolution made no sense, as long as Algerian soil was in hands of the big landowners”.[19] He used his position to push for the approval of the constitution made by the FLN, and alienated allies: Mohammed Khider and Ferhat Abbas resigned their political charges in 1963, dismayed by Ben Bella's dictatorial tendencies which could be seen in the proposed constitution, as it enshrined a one-party state and rejected political pluralism.[20] Nevertheless, this action presented no problem to the Algerian people: the constitution was approved and on 15 September 1963 Ben Bella was elected president of the country, unopposed and with an immense majority.

In his presidency, he had to deal with a country with no state tradition and whose senior civil servants had always previously been foreigners, with the hard duty of building a state out of nearly nothing. Because of that, despite of his egalitarian way of governing, living with modesty, without using the previous governor's palace, and with an always open door, his actions in the government were not as beneficial as his generous intentions. After stabilizing the country, Ben Bella embarked on a series of initially-popular but somewhat anarchic land reforms to the benefit of landless farmers, and increasingly turned to socialist rhetoric. His policy of autogestion, or self-management, was adopted after the peasants seized former French lands, and inspired Marxist Yugoslavian leader Josip Broz Tito . He also worked on the development of his country, instituting reforms, undertaking campaigns for national literacy, and nationalizing several industries[21] and calling for socialization of the economy and Arabization.[22] However, many times he improvised government as he went, as with his National Solidarity Fund, where he asked the Algerian people "voluntarily" to hand over jewellery and banknotes.

In international relations, he had to maintain connections with the former colonial master France, and also accepted economic aid from both the U.S. and the Soviet Union, as each sought to move his regime into its orbit and into opposition to the other. Moreover, he wanted Algeria to be a leader country of the Third World liberation movements and of the Third World itself.[5] For strengthening relations with other colonies and former colonies, Algeria joined the Non-Aligned Movement under Ben Bella’s regime, and he forged links with such African leaders as Gamal Abdel Nasser, Kwame Nkrumah, Modibo Keita and Sekou Toure to aid rebel movements throughout Africa.[23] He also established good relations with Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and Cuba; after his 1962 visit Cuba sent a health mission to Algeria, with doctors and medical help, and later sent weapons and soldiers as aid during the Sand War against Morocco.[24] He was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union on 30 April 1964.[25]

During his regime, he had political problems with former leaders of the FLN, such as Mohammed Khider, Ferhat Abbas, Mohammed Boudiaf and Hocine Aït Ahmed. Ahmed founded the Front des Forces socialistes (Socialist Forces Front) (FFS) to confront Ben Bella and the others joined after being alienated by Ben Bella's dictatorial leadership. In 1963, the FFS called for an armed revolt against the regime. However, it had force only in the Kabylia region, and by the summer of 1964 the revolt was controlled and FFS leaders were arrested.[26]

In addition to political opposition, Ben Bella faced religious opposition. The Association of the Algerian Ulema claimed that the “state Islam” that Ben Bella wanted to achieve was not an application of true Muslim values, but rather an attempt to please the population.[27]

His government finished suddenly when in June 1965, while he was planning to host an Afro-Asian international meeting, he was deposed in a bloodless coup led by Houari Boumédiène, his defense minister. He was held for eight months in an underground prison, then for the next 14 years lived under house arrest.[28]

House arrest and later freedom

After being deposed in 1965, Ben Bella was sent to an underground prison where he was detained for eight months. After that, he was transferred to an isolated villa in Birouta, where he was placed under house arrest for 14 years. However, he was permitted a private life there, and in 1971 he married Zhora Sellami, an Algerian Journalist. Their meeting, was arranged by Ben Bella’s mother. They became religiously observant Muslims, and adopted two girls, Mehdia and Nouria.[29] After Boumedienne's death in 1978, restrictions on him were eased in July 1979, and he was freed on 30 October 1980. Ben Bella briefly resided in France, but was expelled in 1983. He then moved to Lausanne, Switzerland, and launched the Mouvement pour la Démocratie en Algérie (MDA), a moderate Islamic opposition party, in 1984. In September 1990, he returned to Algeria,[29] and in 1991 led the MDA in the first round of the country's abortive parliamentary elections. The MDA was banned in 1997.

Later life

Ben Bella was elected president of the International Campaign Against Aggression on Iraq at its Cairo Conference. He described himself numerous times in interviews as an Islamist of a "mild and peace loving flavour." Despite his former one-party state he later vocally advocated democracy in Algeria. He described the militant voice rising in the Islamic world as having developed from an incorrect and faulty interpretation of Islam. Despite the controversies, he was respected for his role in the anti-colonial struggle and was seen by many Arab intellectuals as one of the last original Arab nationalists.

He was also the chairperson of the African Union Panel of the Wise, which is mandated to advise the AU Commission on issues relevant to conflict prevention, management and resolution. The other members of the panel at the time were: President Miguel Trovoada (former President of São Tomé and Príncipe); Dr. Salim A. Salim (former Secretary-General of the OAU); Dr. Brigalia Bam (Chair of South Africa's Electoral Commission); and Elisabeth Pognon (former President of the Constitutional Court of Benin).

Illness, death and state funeral

In February 2012, Ben Bella was admitted to a hospital for medical checks. At the same time, a report circulated that he had died, but this was denied by his family.[30]

Ben Bella died on 11 April at his family home in Algiers.[31] Though the reasons of his death were unknown he had been treated for respiratory illnesses twice at Ain Naadja. His body lay in state on 12 April before the funeral at El Alia Cemetery on 13 April. Algeria declared eight days of national mourning.[32]

Heads of state and government present at Ben Bella's state funeral

Country Title Dignitary
 MauritaniaPrime MinisterMoulaye Ould Mohamed Laghdaf[33]
 MoroccoPrime MinisterAbdelilah Benkirane[34]
 Sahrawi RepublicPresidentMohamed Abdelaziz[35]
 TunisiaPresidentMoncef Marzouki[34]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Villa avec piscine au Club des Pins II pour Ahmed Ben Bella|DNA - Dernières nouvelles d'Algérie. Dna-algerie.com. Archived 29 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ↑ "AFP: Algeria's first president 'in good health': daughter". Google. 23 February 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  3. ↑ Lyes Laribi , L'Algérie des généraux, Max Milo, 2007, p.11
  4. ↑ Shown as 1916 in some sources, but his father changed his year of birth from 1916 to enable him to leave school early and help him on his farm
  5. 1 2 3 Gregory, Joseph R. (2012-04-11). "Ahmed Ben Bella, First President of an Independent Algeria, Dies at 93". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-09-15.
  6. ↑ "Britannica Academic". academic.eb.com. Retrieved 2018-02-09.
  7. ↑ "Ben Bella profile on om-passion, unofficial Olympique de Marseille site". Om-passion.com. 24 October 2011. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  8. ↑ Ben Bella, un président buteur s’est éteint…. OM.net.
  9. ↑ Olympique de Marseille, saison 1939-1940. Om4ever.com.
  10. ↑ Saïd Amara: «C’était un joueur élégant, technique et efficace» Archived 1 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine.. Algerie360.com. (in French)
  11. ↑ "Jubilé Cherfaoui Ali à Maghnia Un hommage mérité". Vitaminedz. 26 May 2007. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  12. ↑ "Ahmed Ben Bella". 2012-04-12. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2018-02-09.
  13. ↑ Robert Merle, Ahmed Ben Bella, Edició de Materials, 1965
  14. 1 2 Robert Merle, Ahmed Ben Bella, Edició de Materials, 1965
  15. ↑ Siddiqi, Shibil (22 January 2011). "Middle East on the march". Tribune. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  16. ↑ Archived 9 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine.
  17. 1 2 Archived 31 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  18. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 February 2015. Retrieved 2012-04-12.
  19. ↑ Jeffrey James Byrne, "Our Own Special Brand of Socialism: Alegria and the Contest of Modernities in the 1960s", in Diplomatic History, Volume 33, Issue 3 June 2009, 433
  20. ↑ Evans, Martin; Phillips, John, The anger of the dispossessed, Yale University Press, 2008, 74.
  21. ↑ Kang, Mani Singh, “The Legacy of the Revolutionary Algerian Stateman Ahmed Ben Bella (1916 – 2012)”, on The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, American Educational Trust, Washington, 2012,42.
  22. ↑ Evans, Martin; Phillips, John, The anger of the dispossessed, Yale University Press, 2008, 75.
  23. ↑ Kang, Mani Singh, “The Legacy of the Revolutionary Algerian Stateman Ahmed Ben Bella (1916 – 2012)”, on The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, American Educational Trust, Washington, 2012,43.
  24. ↑ Gleijeses, Piero, “Cuba’s First Venture in Africa: Algeria, 1961-65”, in Journal of Latin American Studies, Cambridge University Press, Vol 28, No. 1, February 1996.
  25. ↑ (in Russian)Biography at the website on Heroes of the Soviet Union and Russia
  26. ↑ Evans, Martin; Phillips, John, The anger of the dispossessed, Yale University Press, 2008, 76.
  27. ↑ Evans, Martin; Phillips, John, The anger of the dispossessed, Yale University Press, 2008, 77.
  28. ↑ Gregory, Joseph R. (April 11, 2012). "Ahmed Ben Bella, Revolutionary Who Led Algeria After Independence, Dies at 93". The New York Times.
  29. 1 2 Joffe, Lawrence (2012-04-11). "Ahmed Ben Bella obituary". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-02-09.
  30. ↑ "Algeria's first president 'in good health': daughter". The Daily Star. 23 February 2012. 'He left hospital today and is at home and in good health, considering he is 95,' Mehdia Ben Bella told AFP, dismissing the reports about her father's demise as 'scandalous'.
  31. ↑ "Algeria's first president Ahmed Ben Bella dies". BBC. 10 January 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  32. ↑ "Algerian founding father Ben Bella dead at 95". Al Jazeera. 4 October 2011. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  33. ↑ "Tunisian president, Mauritanian PM in Algeria for funeral of Ben Bella". Xinhua. 13 April 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  34. 1 2 "Algeria mourns first president Ben Bella". Daily Star (AFP). 12 April 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  35. ↑ Hend Hassassi (13 April 2012). "North Africa: Regional Leaders Gather to Attend Funeral of Algeria's First President". AllAfrica.com (Tunisia-live.net). Retrieved 20 December 2013.

Further reading

Aussaresses, General Paul, The Battle of the Casbah: Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism in Algeria, 1955–1957. New York: Enigma Books, 2010. 978-1-929631-30-8.

Political offices
Preceded by
Ferhat Abbas
as President of the National Constituent Assembly		 President of Algeria
1963–1965		 Succeeded by
Houari Boumediene
as Chairman of the Revolutionary Council
Preceded by
Benyoucef Benkhedda
as Head of the Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic		 Prime Minister of Algeria
1962–1965		 Vacant
Title next held by
Mohamed Ben Ahmed Abdelghani
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