Dr. Doctor is an academic title that originates from the Latin word of the same spelling and meaning. The word is originally an agentive noun of the Latin verb 'to teach'. It has been used as an academic title in Europe since the 13th century, w ...

Mohamed Lamine Debaghine (24 January 1917 in

Hussein Dey Hussein Dey (real name Hüseyin bin Hüseyin; 1765 – 1838; ar, حسين داي) was the last Dey of the Deylik of Algiers. Early life He was born either in İzmir or Urla in the Ottoman Empire. He went to Istanbul and joined the Canoneers ( ...

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

; – 23 January 2003 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 ...

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

) was an Algerian politician and independence activist.

Biography

Mohamed Lamine Debaghine, holding a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

from Algiers University, opened a medical practice in the eastern

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I *Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...

region in 1944. At the time, Algeria was a governorate of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, but with the exception of European settlers, Algerians were not accorded

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

. He quickly became active in politics, and joined

Messali Hadj Ahmed Ben Messali Hadj (May 16, 1898 - June 3, 1974), commonly known as Messali Hadj, ar, مصالي الحاج, was an Algerian nationalist politician dedicated to the independence of his homeland from French colonial rule. He is often called ...

Parti du peuple algérien 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) leftist

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

movement in 1939. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he was arrested by

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

authorities for nationalist agitation and for inciting Algerian

conscript Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

s to refuse military service in the

French army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

(while also condemning

Nazism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

).Lamine Debaghine Mohamed (1917-2003)
''cheliff.org'' He emerged as one of the group's most important leaders, pushing for confrontation with the colonial authorities and demanding independence (as opposed to the more moderate followers of

Ferhat Abbas Ferhat is a Turkish given name and the Turkish spelling of the Persian name Ferhad ( fa, فرهاد, ''farhād''). It may refer to: Given name Ferhad * Ferhad Ayaz (born 1994), Turkish-Swedish footballer * Ferhad Pasha Sokolović 16th-century Ott ...

, who, unlike the PPA, restricted their demands to full

citizenship Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

for Algerian Muslims and

autonomous In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ow ...

rule). In 1946, Lamine Debaghine was elected to the

French parliament The French Parliament (french: Parlement français) is the bicameral legislature of the French Republic, consisting of the Senate () and the National Assembly (). Each assembly conducts legislative sessions at separate locations in Paris: ...

as a deputy of Constantine on a list backed by the

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 ...

, a successor movement to the banned PPA. In parliament, he called for Algeria's independence and described France's

annexation Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...

of the country in 1830 an "aggression", but otherwise stayed out of most parliamentary debates and votes (an exception being to vote against French membership in

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

in 1949). In 1951, his parliamentary mandate ended, and three years later, an armed rebellion for Algeria's independence erupted led by the Front de libération nationale (FLN), a PPA/MTLD splinter group. In 1956, Lamine Debaghine was made a member of the FLN's exterior delegation (i.e. outside the country) and its shadow parliament, the CNRA, later CCE. Lamine Debaghine was elected minister of foreign affairs in the first lineup of the FLN's

government-in-exile 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 u ...

, GPRA, under Ferhat Abbas's presidency, holding the post for the period 1958-1960. In this role, he served as a primary spokesman of the FLN to the outside world, and worked to build alliances with the newly independent countries of the

Arab world The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...

and other regions. However, being outside the country, he had limited authority over the actual armed rebellion of the FLN's armed wing, the

Armée de libération nationale The National Liberation Army or ALN ( ar, جيش التحرير الوطني الجزائري, translit=Jaīš al-taḥrīr al-waṭanī al-jazāʾirī; french: Armée de libération nationale) was the armed wing of the nationalist National Libe ...

(ALN). A

Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Mar ...

article from 1957 described him as Abbas's close collaborator, "Dr. Mohammed Lamine-Debaghine, 40, hebitterly anti-French veteran nationalist who is subject to bouts of depression caused by attacks of

neuralgia Neuralgia (Greek ''neuron'', "nerve" + ''algos'', "pain") is pain in the distribution of one or more nerves, as in intercostal neuralgia, trigeminal neuralgia, and glossopharyngeal neuralgia. Classification Under the general heading of neuralg ...

that partially paralyze his face."Algeria: Respectability for Rebels
Time Magazine, Monday, Nov. 18, 1957 As an ally of

Abane Ramdane Abane Ramdane (June 10, 1920 – December 26, 1957) was an Algerian political activist and revolutionary. He played a key role in the organization of the independence struggle during the Algerian war. His influence was so great that he was know ...

, he was later sidelined by Ramdane's rivals, including

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 ...

and others, and he was excluded from the GPRA's two following ministerial lineups, as well as from any important role in post-independence politics. Following the war, he reopened a medical practice in

Sétif Sétif ( ar, سطيف, ber, Sṭif) is the capital of the Sétif Province in Algeria. It is one of the most important cities of eastern Algeria and the country as a whole, since it is considered the trade capital of the country. It is an inner ci ...

. He died in Algiers, the Algerian capital, on 23 January 2003, at the age of 85.

Biography

Notes and sources

Further reading