President of Algeria
The President is the head of state and chief executive of Algeria.
Powers
The President is the chairman of the Council of Ministers and the High Security Council. The President is elected to a five year term and is constitutionally limited to two terms. He appoints one-third of the upper house of the legislature, the Council of the Nation, as well as the Prime Minister, who serves as head of government.
History
The Tripoli Program, which served as Algeria's constitution when it won its war for independence from France in 1962, established the President as the head of state with a Prime Minister assisting in the operation of government. Internal political maneuvering resulted in a new constitution in 1963 that abolished the Prime Minister position and devolved all executive power upon the office of the President. The constitution written in 1976 maintained the executive power of the Presidency, but the modifications of 1979 stripped the head of government status from the office.
In a response to a major shift in the party makeup of the legislature, Chadli Bendjedid dissolved the parliament and resigned on 11 January 1992. Because there was no elected President, the military declared a state of emergency and took over government of the country, establishing a five-member High Council of State. The council appointed a President, Liamine Zéroual, to take office for a three-year term to facilitate a transfer back to normal elections for the office. Zéroual called the first of these elections in 1995, winning the full five-year term easily. He called another early election in 1999. Abdelaziz Bouteflika won this election after all other candidates dropped out. He won re-election on 8 April 2004; his term ends in 2009.
Presidents of The People's Democratic Republic of Algeria
(Al-Jumhūriyya al-Jazā’iriyya ad-Dimuqratiyya ash-Sha’biyya)
| Term | Incumbent | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| September 25, 1962 to September 15, 1963 | Ferhat Abbas | president of the provisional government of the Algerian Republic |
| September 15, 1963 to June 19, 1965 | Ahmed Ben Bella | (Muhammad Ahmad Bin Balla) deposed in a coup d'detat |
| June 19, 1965 to December 10, 1976 | Colonel Houari Boumédiènne, President of the Revolutionary Council | (originally Mohammed Brahim Boukarouba) |
| December 10, 1976 to December 27, 1978 | Colonel Houari Boumédiènne | 10 Dec 1976; died in office |
| December 27, 1978 to February 9, 1979 | Rabah Bitat | |
| February 9, 1979 to January 11, 1992 | Colonel Chadli Bendjedid | 7 Feb, 1979; re-elected February 1984 |
| January 14, 1992 to June 29, 1992 | Mohamed Boudiaf Chairman of the High Council of State'' | Assassinated |
| June 29, 1992 to January 31, 1994 | Ali Kafi Chairman of the High Council of State'' | |
| January 31, 1994 to April 27, 1999 | Liamine Zéroual | |
| April 27, 1999 to present | Abdelaziz Bouteflika |