Fatima Zohra Ardjoune is an

Algerian Army The People's National Army (PNA) () is the military of the Algerian republic. It is the direct successor of the National Liberation Army (ALN), the armed wing of the nationalist National Liberation Front, which fought French colonial rule d ...

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

. She is the first woman in the

Arab world The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...

to attain this rank. A medical doctor, she pioneered research in the field of

hematology Hematology (American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, spelled haematology in British English) is the branch of medicine concerned with the study of the cause, prognosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases related to bloo ...

in the country in the 1980s. She serves as director-general of the army's central hospital.

Early life and career

Fatima Zohra Ardjoune was born in

Sétif Sétif () is the capital city of the Sétif Province and the 5th most populous city of Algeria, with an estimated population of 1.866.845 in 2017). It is one of the most important cities of eastern Algeria and the country as a whole, since it is c ...

and attended an indigenous primary school followed by a girls high school in

Kouba Kouba may refer to: Geography * Kouba, Algeria * Kouka, Banwa in Burkina Faso * Chamb The Chamb () is a river in Germany and the Czech Republic, a right tributary of the Regen (river), Regen River. It flows through Bavaria and Plzeň Region. It i ...

. As a child she wanted to help others, and went on to study medicine at the

University of Algiers The University of Algiers 1 (), commonly called Benyoucef Benkhedda, is a public research university based in Algiers, Algeria. Founded in 1909 from the amalgamation of different French colonial educational institutions, it has become the oldes ...

. Ardjoune joined the People's National Army of Algeria in February 1972. In the 1980s she worked with her husband Mohamed Ardjoun (now a Colonel and director of the army's Blood Transmission Centre) to research blood-borne diseases. The couple were among the first Algerians to carry out research in the field and developed the country's first screening methods at Maillot Hospital. Ardjoune's doctoral thesis was accepted in 1983 and she was promoted to the rank of

commandant Commandant ( or ; ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ...

(equivalent to major) in 1986. She was appointed a professor in 1991 and promoted to lieutenant colonel. Ardjoune writes scientific papers on hematology and supervises post-graduate research students at the National School of Military Health, the University of Sciences and Technology Houari Boumediene and at the

Army general

Ardjoune served as director-general of the Ain Naâdja Military Hospital (where she was previously head of hematology) and was promoted to general rank on 5 July 2009. She is the first Algerian woman and the first woman in the

to attain this rank. Three further women were promoted to general in the Algerian Army on 13 July 2014 (along with 51 men) and the service has the highest number of female generals of any Arab country.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ardjoune, Fatima Zohra Living people Algerian generals Female army generals Algerian hematologists University of Algiers alumni People from Sétif Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Algerian people