Houari Boumédiène

**Houari Boumédiène** ((Arabic: هواري بومدين, romanized: *Hawwārī Būmadyan*; born **Mohammed ben Brahim Boukharouba**; 23 August 1932 – 27 December 1978) na he be Algerian military officer plus politician wey be de second head of state of independent Algeria from 1965 until ein death for 1978. Na he serve as Chairman of de Revolutionary Council of Algeria from 19 June 1965 upto 12 December 1976 den after dat he serve as president of Algeria til he die.

Na dem born am for Guelma, Mohammed ben Brahmin Boukharouba get ein education at de Islamic Institute for Constantine. For 1955, he join de National Liberation Front (FLN) wey he adopt de *nom de guerre* Houari Boumediene. By 1960, he rise through de organization ein ranks to become de commander of de FLN's military wing.

After de FLN's victory over de French for de Algerian War of Independence for 1962, Boumediene become de Minister of Defense for Algeria's new government. However, for June 1965, him overthrow President Ben Bella insyd bloodless coup before he proceed to cancel de Algeria's parliament along with its constitution plus ultimately him become de country en acting head of state. For de 1970s, Boumediene initiate a gradual restoration of parliamentarism plus civil institutions for Algeria. Dis process do end with de adoption of de new constitution for 1976. Dem  reinstate de presidency den Boumediene come out as de sole candidate for an election later dat year, winning with 99.46 per cent of de votes. Subsequently, Him pursue Arab socialist and Pan-Arabist policies. Him no dey like Israel at all, so him help anti-colonial movements den freedom fighters for de Arab world plus Africa with support plus logistics.

From early 1978, Boumediene no dey show for public like before. Him die on December 27, 1978, after dem try treat am for one rare blood cancer wey no work, dem dey call am Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia. Ein funeral pull crowd, as two million people come mourn am. Na Chadli Bendjedid take over as president after am.

## Early life plus War of Independence

Information for Boumédiène ein early life no really dey like dat. De place wey dem  bon am dey show as Guelma, Clauzel village wey dey near Guelma, or Héliopolis, plus ein  date of birth  be say na 16 August 1925, 23 August 1927, or for plenty source  1932. Ein papa talk say him date of birth na 23 August 1932 for interview insyd1965   Ein birth name be Mohammed ben Brahim Boukherouba plus eim papa be broke wheat farmer, Arab man wey be strict Muslim, plus e no sabi French at all. Per de Encyclopaedia of Islam, na ein family dey speak Arabic plus e get Berber roots. E go school for Quranic school for Guelma till e reach 14years, den e move go Arabic secondary school for Constantine.

For 1952, wen France de recruit Algerian pipo to fight for de Indochina War, Boumédiène don go  Cairo, where him de study for de Al-Azhar University. Na e be dere him first meet Ahmed Ben Bella. Ein join National Liberation Front (FLN) for de time of de Algerian War of Independence for 1955, take Houari Boumédiène as him war name (from Sidi Boumediène, wey be de patron saint of Tlemcen city for western Algeria, where he dey serve as officer during de war, plus Sidi El Houari, wey be de patron saint for nearby Oran). E rise to colonel rank, den highest rank for de FLN forces, plus from 1960, e become de chief of staff for ALN, de military side of FLN.

Na him don marry Anissa al-Mansali dat time.

## After independence

For 1962, after dem do referendum, Algeria take declare im independence, plus French government no get wahala with dat one. Boumédiène plus Ahmed Ben Bella come push out de provisional government wey Benyoucef Benkhedda dey run with support from di ALN for 1962. Boumédiène be di big man for military side insyde de government, plus him be defence minister wey de Algerian president Ahmed Ben Bella put am, cause him help am waka come power like chief of staff. Later, Boumédiène come be Vice President of Algeria for September 1963. E start dey trust Ben Bella less den less sake of how e dey rule anyhow plus e too strict with ideology. So for June 1965, Boumédiène take power by force but em no shed  any blood.

Dem don wipe away de constitution plus political system for de country, plus him dey rule through him own Revolutionary Council wey him military paddy dem dey support am. Plenty of dem be him guys from de war times, wen e dey chill for de Moroccan border town Oujda, wey make analysts dey talk say 'Oujda Group'. One big man for dis group na Boumédiène long-time foreign minister, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, wey serve as Algeria president from 1999 go 2019.

At first, dem dey see am as person wey fit be weak leader, e no get any strong people wey dey support am apart from army, plus dem no sabi how far him fit control de officer come. Him dey hold de leadership for Algeria well well till him go 1978. After de coup wey happen for 1967, no real challenge come from insyde de government. After dis coup, him dey insist say make dem share de ruling.

## Domestic policy

For economic matter, Boumédiène no follow Ben Bella dey focus on rural Algeria plus all those socialist business wey dem dey try. E instead choose to dey plan proper industrialization wey go involve government. For dat time, Algeria no get any serious production, but for 1971, Boumédiène take over de oil industry, den money start dey flow for government (plus French government come dey vex well well). E use di oil plus gas money—especially wen de oil price come burst for 1973—to build heavy industry, dey hope say Algeria go turn  de industrial heart of Maghreb. De years wey e rule, e show say na  steady economic growth dey, but after e die, for de 80s, oil price drop plus how de government industries dey slack come make dem change policy to allow small-small economic freedom. Boumédiène  put Arab socialism as di main way wey dem dey run government, and den say Islam be di official religion. E be strong supporter of Arabization and e dey push am pass Ben Bella for Arabizing Algeria, especially from 1970 go 1977, plus e talk say 1971 na year of Arabization.

For 1970s, as government industry dey grow  plus dem nationalize oil, Boumédiène come declare some socialist revolutions, plus him make ein leftist  of him government strong. One wahala wey come from dis na de way dem fit join some old members of Algerian Communist Party (dem call am PAGS) wey dey hide before, as dem come enter government, e sure say dem fit get small intellectual influence, but dem no legalize demma party officially. Algeria don remain  one-party state under FLN.

Politics dey stable, but anytime dem try challenge government, dem go cut am quick. Boumédiène, as chairman of de Revolutionary Command Council, dey rule with order. For de 1970s, dem small-small bring back constitutional rule plus civilian political systems come back. Dem try revive FLN activities, plus government bodies start come back, from local assemblies dey go up to national level, wey parliament election dey happen. De whole matter finish with constitution wey dem adopt for 1976 wey really set Algeria’s political structure. Before Dat, pipo dey talk plenty about de government plan, but de constitution come take shape insyde one controll referendum wey no get big changes. Dem come bring back president office. As FLN leader, Boumédiène be de only person for president, plus dem confirm am for December referendum.

Wen e die that year, de way Algeria dey run be all about FLN design. Dem structure no change much till late 1980s wen dem bring political pluralism come plus FLN lose him as de main party. (Many basic tings wey dey insyde dis system plus Boumédiène era constitution still dey.) But during Boumédiène time, military still dey control politics for de country, plus dem influence dey enter civilian places like FLN, parliament plus government, wey dey disturb how politics suppose dey go. Serious fight for money or power between military plus political people dey continue, but na Boumédiène strong presence wey dey hold everywhere down, make e no scatter government.

Under Boumédiène ein government, Algeria grow well for economy plus society level. From 1962 to 1982, de population jump from 10 million to 20 million people. Before independence, most people dey village, but by den about 45% of dem don move go town. Every year, the money each person dey get ' wey no pass 2,000 francs for 1962 climb go over 11,000 francs after 20 years. School enrolment too go up, from just 10% during French time to between 75 plus 95% based on de area. But still, Boumédiène focus plenty on factory plus industrial tings, so dem no pay attention to farming like that.

## Foreign policy
Boumédiène no dey follow anyone side, he dey maintain good vibe with both communist guys plus capitalist nations, plus e dey push for how third-world fit come together. For UN, e talk say make all countries join as equal, make dem no dey treat ex-colonial nations anyhow, plus e want make dem change wetin dey happen with political plus trade matter like socialist way. Him wan build strong third world bloc through Non-Aligned Movement, where e dey shine well well. E dey support freedom fighters, justice plus equality seekers without any condition. E dey help logistics for anti-colonial movement plus other militant groups for Africa plus Arab world, like PLO, ANC, SWAPO den other countries.

Algeria no dey support Israel at all, dem dey stand gidigba for Palestinians matter. For early 1970s, Boumédiène don talk am well: 'We dey with Palestinians, whether dem dey suffer or dem  dey cause suffering'. Algeria come add more fire to Arab coalition with air force wey go face Israel for Six-Day War for 1967, plus dem send armor brigade with 150 tanks go Yom Kippur War for 1973, where Algerian jets join Egypt plus Iraq guys for attack. Dem even drop $200 million for Soviet Union to help buy arms for Egypt and Syria. As US dey support Israel during Six-Day War, Algeria cut dem diplomatic link with USA. Dem join for 1973 oil embargo after US back Israel for Yom Kippur War. Wen Egypt gree normalize dem relationship with Israel, Algeria plus some other Arab countries no gree , dem jam Anwar Sadat den cut link with Egypt for 1977. Algeria buy plenty weapon from de Soviet Union.

Big event wey happen for de region na de 1975 promise wey e make to support Western Sahara people make dem fit determine dem own destiny. E allow Sahrawi refugees plus Polisario Front come stay for Algeria after Morocco plus Mauritania try take de place. Dis matter spoil de chance to fix things with Morocco, wey don dey bad since de 1963 Sand War, even dem get small chance to dey cool down wen e first come power. De  serious rivalry wey dey happen between Morocco plus Algeria, plus de Western Sahara wahala  wey no resolve yet don define Algeria foreign policy , since den plus e still dey like dat today.
File:Nasser,_Aref,_Boumieddin,_Atassi,_Azhari.jpg|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nasser,_Aref,_Boumieddin,_Atassi,_Azhari.jpg|Arab heads of state insyd Cairo to discuss previous talks plus Soviet leaders. From left to right: Iraqi president Abdul Rahman Arif, Boumediene, Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser, Syrian president Nureddin al-Atassi den Sudanese president Ismail al-Azhari, July 1967
File:Houari_Boumediene.jpg|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Houari_Boumediene.jpg|Boumédiène insyd 1972
File:1975_Algiers_Agreement.jpg|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:1975_Algiers_Agreement.jpg|Na dem sign de 1975 Algiers Agreement by (left to right) de Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Boumédiène, den de Iraqi vice-president Saddam Hussein
File:Gaddafi-Boumedienne-Assad-1977-Tripolis.jpg|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gaddafi-Boumedienne-Assad-1977-Tripolis.jpg|alt=|Libyan Leader Muammar Gaddafi, Boumediene den Syrian President Hafez al-Assad insyd Tripoli, 1977


## Ein Death plus funeral
For 1978, dis guy dey show face small-small. Him dey  coma for 39 days, den him die for Algiers from some rare blood wahala wey dem dey call Waldenström's macroglobulinemia, after dem try treat am for Moscow but e no work. People dey talk say them fit don assassinate am or poison am sometimes for Algerian politics, especially after two other people wey join 1975 Algiers Agreement — de Shah (wey die 1980) plus him Minister Asadollah Alam (wey die 1978) — too die from cancer around de same time. Boumédiène death leave big gap for power for Algeria wey no easy to fill; some military guys gather den dem agree say make dem bypass de left plus right contenders, den maintain de top military officer, Colonel Chadli Bendjedid, as de compromise choice.

Boumédiène funeral happen for Algiers on 29 December 1978. Two million people gather, dem break police barrier plus block road. De Algeria government promise say dem go continue him socialist revolution plus declare 40 days official mourning. Even though dem get wahala over Camp David Accords, Egyptian president Anwar Sadat still pay respect to Boumédiène, say him hear de news of him death "with sorrow plus sadness" so em send delegation  come ein funeral. PLO leader Yasser Arafat join de funeral with him second for command for Fatah, Abu Iyad wey don build close relationship with Boumédiène. US President Jimmy Carter talk say he dey feel am well well, plus e mention say Boumédiène na person wey play correct role for Algeria fight for independence. Him passion for ein work plus wetin e do as international leader everybody sabi am. But na de way wey e try establish plus boost independent, self-sufficient Algeria go make people remember am pass. Plenty Delegates from US show face, even Muhammad Ali sef show face. Soviet press dey hail Boumédiène as 'big friend of Soviet Union', plus talk say e make big contributions to Algeria social and economic move.
## Awards den honors
*Algeria:
** National Order of Merit
*Cuba:
** Order of José Martí (1974)
*Morocco:
** Grand Cordon of de Order of Ouissam Alaouite

## Check am too
*Houari Boumediene Airport, an airport near Algiers dem name after am.
*Houari Boumédienne District, a district insyd ein native Guelma Province dem name after am.
*El Mouradia Palace

## References


## General bibliography

* Balta, Paul, and Claudine Roulleau, *La Stratégie de Boumédiène*, Simbad, 1978
* Francos, Ania, and Jean-Pierre Séréni, *Un Algérien nommé Boumédiène*, Stock, coll. Les Grands Leaders, 1976
* Minces, Juliette, *L'Algérie de Boumediène*, Presses de la Cité, 1978
## External links

* (In French) Le règne de Houari Boumediène, *El Watan*, 27 décembre 2008
* (In French) Video clip of a speech by Houari Boumédiène