Abdelhamid Mehri (April 1926 – 30 January 2012) was an Algerian resistance fighter, soldier and politician.Rabah Beldjenna,
Abdelhamid Mehri est décédé lundi à Alger
, ''

El Watan ''El Watan'' (Arabic:الوطن, meaning ''the Homeland'') is an independent French-language newspaper in Algeria. History and profile The paper was founded in 1990 after Omar Belhouchet and nineteen colleagues left the FLN government-owned ne ...

'', 30 January 2012 Born into a destitute family in

Constantine, Algeria Constantine ( ar, قسنطينة '), also spelled Qacentina or Kasantina, is the capital of Constantine Province in northeastern Algeria. During Roman Empire, Roman times it was called Cirta and was renamed "Constantina" in honor of emperor Const ...

, Abdelhamid Mehri joined the

Algerian People's Party The Algerian People's Party (in French, Parti du Peuple Algerien PPA), was a successor organization of the North African Star (''Étoile Nord-Africaine''), led by veteran Algerian nationalist Messali Hadj. It was formed on March 11, 1937. In 1936, ...

(PPA) at an early age. He studied in

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

, and developed contacts with the nationalist

Neo Destour The New Constitutional Liberal Party ( ar, الحزب الحر الدستوري الجديد, '; French: ''Nouveau Parti libéral constitutionnel''), most commonly known as Neo Destour, was a Tunisian political party founded in 1934 by a group o ...

party. In Algeria, he became a prominent member of the PPA's successor organization Mouvement pour le Triomphe des Libertés Démocratiques (MTLD), and continued into the Front de libération nationale (FLN), a guerrilla movement fighting for independence from French

colonial rule Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their relig ...

. He was elected member of the GPRA, the FLN's

exile government A government in exile (abbreviated as GiE) is a political group that claims to be a country or semi-sovereign state's legitimate government, but is unable to exercise legal power and instead resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile us ...

, as minister for

Maghreb The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...

affairs in 1958; in 1961, he became minister of social and cultural affairs. After Algeria's independence in 1962, he briefly left politics, but gradually gained influence after the 1965

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

col. Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Houari Boumédiène Houari Boumédiène ( ar, ; ALA-LC: ''Hawwārī Būmadyan''; born Mohammed Ben Brahim Boukherouba; 23 August 1932 – 27 December 1978) was an Algerian politician and army colonel who served as Chairman of the Revolutionary Council of Alge ...

. In 1979, soon after Boumédiène's death, he was made member of the FLN's central committee and slowly rose in the ranks under

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Chadli Bendjedid Chadli Bendjedid ( ar, الشاذلي بن جديد; ALA-LC: ''ash-Shādhilī bin Jadīd''; 14 April 1929 – 6 October 2012) was the third President of Algeria and an Algerian Nationalist. His presidential term of office ran from 9 February 19 ...

. After the 1988 October riots in Algeria, he succeeded hardliner

Mohamed Cherif Messaâdia Muhammad was an Islamic prophet and a religious and political leader who preached and established Islam. Muhammad and variations may also refer to: *Muhammad (name), a given name and surname, and list of people with the name and its variations ...

as FLN secretary-general. After the subsequent change to a multiparty system, and the 1992 military coup, he brought the FLN into the opposition, and supported the

Sant'Egidio platform The Sant'Egidio Platform of January 13, 1995 was an attempt by most of the major Algerian opposition parties to create a framework for peace and plan to end to the Algerian Civil War. The escalating violence and extremism, which had been provoked by ...

urging national reconciliation with the Islamist current and the

FIS FIS or fis may refer to: Science and technology * '' Fis'', an ''E. Coli'' gene * Fis phenomenon, a phenomenon in linguistics * F♯ (musical note) * Flight information service, an air traffic control service * Frame Information Structure, a Se ...

as a solution for the

Algerian Civil War The Algerian Civil War ( ar, rtl=yes, الْحَرْبُ الْأَهْلِيَّةُ الجَزَائِرِيَّةُ, al-Ḥarb al-ʾAhlīyah al-Jazāʾirīyah) was a civil war in Algeria fought between the Algerian government and various Is ...

, in a clear challenge to the éradicateur military elite that influenced Algerian politics behind the scenes. Soon after, he was gradually ousted from the party's central committee, which thereafter returned to supporting the security establishment. He died, aged 85, in

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mehri, Abdelhamid 1926 births 2012 deaths People from Constantine, Algeria Algerian People's Party politicians Movement for the Triumph of Democratic Liberties politicians National Liberation Front (Algeria) politicians Culture ministers of Algeria Chaoui people Ambassadors of Algeria to Morocco Algerian expatriates in Morocco Algerian diplomats 21st-century Algerian people