Mohamed Boudiaf
Mohamed Boudiaf was born in Ouled Madhi (now in M'Sila Province), French Algeria, to a family of former nobility, which had lost its standing and influence during colonial times. His education was cut short after primary school by poor health (tuberculosis) and his increasing activism in the nascent nationalist movement. A member of the nationalist Parti du Peuple Algérien (PPA) of Messali Hadj, he later joined the successor organization MTLD and its secret paramilitary wing, the "Organisation Spéciale" (OS). Boudiaf was responsible for organizing the OS network in the Sétif region, storing arms, collecting funds and preparing guerrilla forces. He was sentenced "in absentia" to 10 years of prison by the French authorities, but avoided arrest.