Ali Yahia Abdennour ( ar, علي يحيى عبد النور; January 18, 1921 – April 25, 2021) was an Algerian

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

and

human rights activist A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistleblowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing campai ...

Early life and education

Ali Yahia Abdennour was born on 18 January 1921, in the village of Lemkherda, Aït Yahia, now a

wilayah A wilayah ( ar, وَلاية, wālāya or ''wilāya'', plural ; Urdu and fa, ولایت, ''velâyat''; tr, vilayet) is an administrative division, usually translated as "state", "province" or occasionally as "governorate". The word comes fr ...

Tizi Ouzou Tizi Ouzou or Thizi Wezzu (, Kabyle: Tizi Wezzu) is a city in north central Algeria. It is among the largest cities in Algeria. It is the second most populous city in the Kabylie region after Bejaia. History Etymology The name ''Tizi Ouzou' ...

, in what was

French Algeria French Algeria (french: Alger to 1839, then afterwards; unofficially , ar, الجزائر المستعمرة), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of French colonisation of Algeria. French rule in the region began in 1830 with the ...

. He completed his primary education at Tizi Ouzou and finished his secondary studies at

Médéa Médéa ( ber, Lemdiyyet, ar, المدية ''al-Madiya''), population 123,535 (1998 census) is the capital city of Médéa Province, Algeria. It is located roughly 68 km south of Algiers. The present-day city is situated on the site of ...

Youth and the Algerian War

Abdennour became a teacher and was assigned for four years to Affreville (today

Khemis Miliana Khemis Miliana ( ar, خميس مليانة, links=no) is a town in northern Algeria of around 500000 inhabitants. It is a university town located 120 kilometers west of Algiers. It was known as Malliana in Roman times, then Affreville during the ...

), birthplace of the future commander of

Wilayah A wilayah ( ar, وَلاية, wālāya or ''wilāya'', plural ; Urdu and fa, ولایت, ''velâyat''; tr, vilayet) is an administrative division, usually translated as "state", "province" or occasionally as "governorate". The word comes fr ...

IV, Si M'hammed Bougara, whom he later met in hiding. In 1943, it was mobilized by the Alliance who took over Algeria from the

Vichy France Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its ter ...

. He was decorated the following year. In 1945, he 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, ...

Movement for the Triumph of Democratic Liberties The Movement for the Triumph of Democratic Liberties (MTLD), name proposed by Maiza, was created October 1946 to replace the outlawed Parti du Peuple Algerien (PPA). Messali Hadj remained as its president. The MTLD was created on the same platform ...

at the time of Algeria war and he left the PPA-MTLD party during the Berber crisis in 1949. In 1955, Abdennour joined the FLN. In 1956, he was arrested and later was placed under

house arrest In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if all ...

, from 1957 to 1960. Following his release in 1961, Abdennour became secretary general of the UGTA (

General Union of Algerian Workers The General Union of Algerian Workers (UGTA, French: ''Union Générale des Travailleurs Algériens'', Arabic: الاتحاد العام للعمال الجزائريين) is the main Algerian trade union, established February 24, 1956 with the ob ...

). After independence, he was elected deputy for the

Tizi Ouzou Province Tizi Ouzou ( Kabyle: Tawilayt n Tizi Wezzu, ar, ولاية تيزي وزو) is a province (''wilayah'') of Algeria in the Kabylia region. Its capital is Tizi Ouzou. History In 1984, Boumerdès Province was carved out of its territory. Adminis ...

. In 1963, he joined the rebellion of

Hocine Aït Ahmed Hocine Aït Ahmed ( ar, حسين آيت أحمد‎; 20 August 1926 – 23 December 2015) was an Algerian politician. He was founder and leader until 2009 of the historical political opposition in Algeria. Life Aït Ahmed was born at Aï ...

and later stood against

Ahmed Ben Bella Ahmed Ben Bella ( ar, أحمد بن بلّة '; 25 December 1916 – 11 April 2012) was an Algerian politician, soldier and socialist revolutionary who served as the head of government of Algeria from 27 September 1962 to 15 September 1963 an ...

.Dictionnaire biographique de militants nationalistes algériens, 1926-1954, Benjamin Stora,
livre en ligne
/ref>

Minister, lawyer, and human rights activist

Ali Yahia Abdennour became Minister of Transport and Public Works, then Minister of Agriculture and

Agrarian Reform Agrarian reform can refer either, narrowly, to government-initiated or government-backed redistribution of agricultural land (see land reform) or, broadly, to an overall redirection of the agrarian system of the country, which often includes land re ...

for a year in the government 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 ...

, between 1965 and 1968. After studying law, he became a lawyer. He was arrested in 1983 and released in 1984. In 1985, two groups of Algiers, one led by Omar Ménouar and the group of Tizi Ouzou represented by Ali Yahia Yahia, competed to control the League of Human Rights of Algeria which was not yet officially established. Ali Yahia Abdennour could not be elected president, because he was perceived to be close to the Berber movement. Ali Yahia formed another league immediately, but he could be arrested. According to the Algerian authorities, he had no approval. After LADH (Algerian League for Human Rights) was established by the Algerian authorities in 1987 and chaired by lawyer Miloud Brahimi, Ali Yahia was chosen as Honorary President of the Algerian League for the Defense of Human Rights (LADDH) which he had founded together with Saïd Saadi and Arezki Ait Larbi. Ali Yahia Abdennour opposed the interruption of the 1991 electoral process and defended some of the leaders of 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 ...

. In 1994, he participated in the Sant' Egidio conference in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. In 2011, he took part in the call of the National Coordination for Change and Democracy. On 8 October 2017, together with

Ahmed Taleb Ibrahimi Dr. Ahmed Taleb Ibrahimi ( ar, أحمد طالب الإبراهيمي) (born 5 January 1932) is an Algerian politician and intellectual. He is the son of Islamic theologian and renowned scholar Bachir Ibrahimi, and served in multiple ministerial ...

and Rachid Benyelles they declared the state of incapacity of President

Abdelaziz Bouteflika Abdelaziz Bouteflika (; ar, عبد العزيز بوتفليقة, ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz Būtaflīqa ; 2 March 1937 – 17 September 2021) was an Algerian politician and diplomat who served as President of Algeria from 1999 to his resignation in 2019 ...

, who had been affected by a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

. On 20 May 2018, his eldest son, Amokrane, died.

" Hirak" Movement

On 18 May 2019, in the midst of the 2019–2020 Algerian protests together with Ahmed Taleb Ibrahimi and Rachid Benyelles they called, to postpone the

2019 Algerian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Algeria on 12 December 2019. The election had originally been scheduled for 18 April, but was postponed due to sustained weekly protests against plans by the incumbent president Abdelaziz Bouteflika to run ...

and to launch a dialogue between the army and representatives of the demonstrators to put in place a political transition. On 15 October, Abdennour and several other personalities, including the former head of government

Ahmed Benbitour Ahmed Benbitour ( ar, أحمد بن بيتور; born June 20, 1946) is an Algerian politician who was Head of Government of Algeria from 1999 to 2000. Life and career Born at Metlili, Ghardaïa in the Chaamba Arab tribe, Benbitour received his d ...

, former Minister of Foreign Affairs

, former Minister of Culture Abdelaziz Rahabi and former Minister of Education Ali Benmohamed, as well as lawyer Abdelghani Badi, and academics Nacer Djabi and Louisa Ait Hamadouche called for "a new reading of reality", at the departure of the dignitaries of the regime, as well as holding the presidential election after a dialogue. On 10 December, with 18 other personalities -- including Ahmed Taleb Ibrahimi, Mostefa Bouchachi Ali Benmohamed, Abdelaziz Rahabi, Ahmed Benbitour, Abdelghani Badi, Nacer Djabi, and Louisa Ait Hamadouche -- Abdennour called for not interfering with Algerians' voting.

Death

Abdennour died on 25 April 2021, at the age of 100.

Mandates

* Member of the

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

(1962–1964) *

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(1964–1965) * Minister of Public Works and Transport (1965–1966) * Minister of

Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

and Agrarian Reform (1966–1968)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdennour, Ali Yahia 1921 births 2021 deaths Algerian political people 20th-century Algerian lawyers Algerian centenarians Government ministers of Algeria Men centenarians Members of the Parliament of Algeria People from Aït Yahia