Abdelkader Bensalah ( ar, عبد القـادر بن صالح, ʿAbd āl-Qādar bin Ṣāliḥ, 24 November 1941 – 22 September 2021) was an Algerian politician. He served as the

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 ...

of the

Council of the Nation The Council of the Nation ( ar, مجلس الأمة, Majlis al-Ummah) is the upper house of the Algerian Parliament. It is composed of 144 members, 2/3 of which are elected indirectly and 1/3 of which are appointed by the president of Algeria. ...

, the upper house of the bicameral

Parliament of Algeria The Parliament of Algeria consists of two chambers: *The Council of the Nation (Upper Chamber) *The People's National Assembly ( Lower Chamber) See also * Politics of Algeria *List of legislatures by country References External linksPeop ...

, between 2002 and 2019. After 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 ruled the country for 20 years, resigned in April 2019, Bensalah served as the Acting Head of State of Algeria until

Abdelmadjid Tebboune Abdelmadjid Tebboune ( ar, عبد المجيد تبون, ʿAbd al-Majīd Tabbūn; born 17 November 1945) is an Algerian politician currently serving as the President of Algeria since December 2019 and as Minister of Defence. He took over the po ...

took office after winning the presidential election in December 2019.

Political career

After working in

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

to direct the Algerian Center for Information and Culture from 1970 to 1974, Bensalah returned to Algeria to work as a journalist at the state newspaper ''El Chaâb'' for three years, before being elected to represent the

Tlemcen Province Tlemcen ( ar, ولاية تلمسان) is a province (''wilaya'') in northwestern Algeria. The Tlemcen National Park is located there. History The province was created from Oran (department) and Tlemcen department in 1974. Administrative divi ...

in 1977. Twelve years later, he was appointed Ambassador to

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

, a position he held until 1993. As a member of the centrist Democratic National Rally (RND), he was

of the National Transitional Council from 1994 to 1997 and of the People's National Assembly from 1997 to 2002. From July 2002 to April 2019, he served as President of the

, the upper house of the

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

. He replaced

for some presidential duties, like welcoming foreign leaders to Algeria, during the last part of the former President's tenure. He was a strong ally of the latter, supporting his fifth candidacy even during the

2019 Algerian protests Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

. As provided for under article 102 of the Algerian Constitution, he became acting Head of State of Algeria on 9 April 2019, seven days after the resignation of Abdelaziz Bouteflika. His term lasted for a maximum of 90 days while the presidential election should have been held. By law, he was barred from participating in that election. On 19 December 2019, he received the National Order of Merit from President

Personal life and death

Abdelkader Bensalah was born on 24 November 1941, in Felaoussene, close to

Tlemcen Tlemcen (; ar, تلمسان, translit=Tilimsān) is the second-largest city in northwestern Algeria after Oran, and capital of the Tlemcen Province. The city has developed leather, carpet, and textile industries, which it exports through the p ...

, then part of French Algeria. Bensalah died from cancer at the in Algiers on 22 September 2021, aged 79, with his health worsening after contracting

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

. His death, which occurred just five days after the death of

, was announced by the Office of the President. Flags were ordered to fly at

half-mast Half-mast or half-staff (American English) refers to a flag flying below the summit of a ship mast, a pole on land, or a pole on a building. In many countries this is seen as a symbol of respect, mourning, distress, or, in some cases, a salut ...

for three days in mourning. He was buried at the El Alia Cemetery on 23 September.

Honours

National honour

- the National Order of Merit with rank of Sadr

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bensalah, Abdelkader 1941 births 2021 deaths Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Algeria People from Tlemcen Province Democratic National Rally politicians Presidents of Algeria Presidents of the People's National Assembly of Algeria Ambassadors of Algeria to Saudi Arabia Members of the Council of the Nation 20th-century Algerian politicians Algerian journalists 20th-century Algerian writers 20th-century male writers 21st-century Algerian politicians 20th-century journalists Male journalists Deaths from cancer in Algeria