Houari Boumediene, President of Algeria, Dies After Long Coma
An Elusive, Enigmatic Figure
By SHEILA RULE – New York Times – December 27, 1978
President Houari Boumediene of Algeria was one of the most enigmatic and elusive figures among world leaders.
Even his name was part of the enigma; Houari Boumediene was a nom de guerre adopted during the eight‐year war of independence against the French. His original name was Mohammed Boukharouba.
There was no question but that the President succeeded in bringing political stability and economic progress to Algeria’s people after he seized power from Ahmed Ben Bella bull bloodless coup in June 1965.
President Boumediene’s concern with revolution, progress and change made his nation an influential force in many world councils and put him in the limelight as a spokesman for developing nations, for nonaligned governments and for hardline Arabs.
He was behind a move to rally other Arabs against President Anwar elSadat’s peace moves with Israel and be backed the rebel Polisario in Western Sahara against Morocco and Mauritania.
Under Mr. Boumediene, Algeria emerged as a leading advocate of the oilexporting countries and their third‐world allies
Re‐Elected by a 99.5% Majority
President Bciumediene became the virtually unchallenged ruler of his nation, gaining reelection in 1976 with more than 99.5 percent of the vote in a turnout of 96 percent. Under the Constitution, he was head of state, commander of the armed forces, head of Government and also head of national defense.
He called the 1976 election, the first in the country in 13 years, as part of a restructuring of domestic politics.
In his years in power, Mr. Boumediene gave top priority to industrialization, development of petroleum and petrochemical industries, steel, machinery, electrical, electronic and some consumer‐oriented industries.
The President even wrought changes in himself after taking office. Mr. Boumediene was shy and awkward when he came to the presidency and an indifferent speaker and dresser. He was so embarrassed about his bad teeth, it was said, that he told cameramen not to put sharp focus on his face when he made speeches but rather on the microphone.
Later, his confidence and social poise increased. He became a tireless orator and an even elegant figure at international meetings.
He was quietly married in 1973 to an attorney. Anisa al‐Mansali, and after that began to show enthusiasm for women’s rights.
His zeal for innovation may have seemed odd in a man who was deeply attached to the Moslem tradition. But Mr. Boumediene said: “Islam is not only a spiritual path but a social and political program. It exceeds all other religions in its struggle for the liberty of man.”
A gaunt, intense, chain‐smoking revsolutionary with wavy reddish‐brown hair and intent green eyes, the President made little attempt to clear up his back ground
Even his birthdate is vague; it has been placed variously from 1925 to 1932. According to one account, he was born in Guelma, in mountainous eastern Algeria, in 1925 or 1926, the eldest of four children in a poor peasant family.
Attended Islamic School
He attended the Ben Badis Institute in Constantine, one of the schools established by the ulemas — Moslem religious savants — that were early centers of Islamic and anti‐French nationalism in Algeria.
He was arrested in by the French following a 1945 uprising of Moslems. Reportedly, like many other Algerians, he was converted to violent nationalism by the brutality of the French countermeasures.
In 1950, Mr. Boumediene appeared in Cairo, where he attended Al Azhar University, and it was there in 1952 that he met Mr. Ben Bella, then one of the “nine historic chiefs” planning what became the Algerian insurrection.
Algeria’s first Vice President and Defense Minister, Mr. Boumediene was both the chief supporter and greatest potential rival of Mr. Ben Bella.
He was the austere silent partner of the Ben Bella regime, often in behind‐thescenes disagreement with Mr. Ben Bella and the Marxist intellectuals of the ruling National Liberation Front party.
