Houari Boumédiène

Houari Boumédiène (born Mohammed ben Brahim Boukharouba; 23 August 1932 – 27 December 1978) was an Algerian military officer, revolutionary, and politician who was the second head of state of independent Algeria from 1965 until his death in 1978. He served as Chairman of the Revolutionary Council of Algeria from 19 June 1965 until 12 December 1976 and thereafter as president of Algeria until his death. At age 32, Boumédiène remains the youngest person to serve as head of state of Algeria.

Born in Guelma, Boumédiène was educated at the Islamic Institute in Constantine. In 1955, he joined the National Liberation Front (FLN) and adopted the nom de guerre Houari Boumédiène. By 1960, he had risen through the organization's ranks to become the commander of the FLN's military wing. After the FLN's victory over the French in the Algerian War of Independence in 1962, Boumédiène became the Minister of Defense in Algeria's new government.

In June 1965, Boumédiène overthrew President Ben Bella in a bloodless coup before proceeding to abolish Algeria's parliament along with its constitution and ultimately becoming the country's acting head of state. In the 1970s, Boumédiène initiated a gradual restoration of parliamentarism and civil institutions in Algeria. This process ended with the adoption of the new constitution in 1976. The presidency was reinstated, and Boumédiène emerged as the sole candidate in an election later that year, winning with 99.46 per cent of the votes. Subsequently, he pursued Arab socialist and Pan-Arabist policies. He was also strongly opposed to Israel and offered logistic assistance to anti-colonial movements and freedom fighters across the Arab world and Africa.

From the beginning of 1978, Boumédiène appeared less and less in public. He died on December 27, 1978, after unsuccessful treatment for a rare form of blood cancer, Waldenström's macroglobulinemia. His funeral was attended by two million mourners. He was succeeded as president by Chadli Bendjedid.