Rabah Bitat ( ar, رابح بيطاط;

ALA-LC ALA-LC (American Library AssociationLibrary of Congress) is a set of standards for romanization, the representation of text in other writing systems using the Latin script. Applications The system is used to represent bibliographic information by ...

: ''Rābaḥ Bīṭāṭ''; 19 December 1925 in Aïn Kerma – 10 April 2000) was an Algerian Nationalist and politician. He served as interim President of Algeria from 1978 to 1979, after Houari Boumediene's death.

Career

Bitat was appointed as

Vice President of Algeria A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character tr ...

in the cabinet of

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 ...

from September 1962 to September 1963. Bitat served as President of the People's National Assembly from April 1977 to October 1990 and was the

interim An interim is a period of temporary pause or change in a sequence of events, or a temporary state, and is often applied to transitional political entities. Interim may also refer to: Temporary organizational arrangements (general concept) *Provis ...

President of Algeria The president of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria is the head of state and chief executive of Algeria, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Algerian People's National Armed Forces. History of the office The Tripoli Program, whi ...

from 27 December 1978 to 9 February 1979. He became president after the death of

Houari Boumédiènne Houari is a given name and surname. It may refer to: Persons Given name *Houari Boumédiène, also transcribed Boumediene, Boumedienne etc. (1932–1978), served as Chairman of the Revolutionary Council of Algeria from 19 June 1965 until 12 Decembe ...

and was replaced by

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 ...

. He was from the Front de Libération National. Bitat first supported, then opposed,

. He held the transportation portfolio under

Houari Boumédienne Houari is a given name and surname. It may refer to: Persons Given name *Houari Boumédiène, also transcribed Boumediene, Boumedienne etc. (1932–1978), served as Chairman of the Revolutionary Council of Algeria from 19 June 1965 until 12 Decembe ...

before becoming the first president of the ANP (by the constitution of 1976). Bitat served as acting president (December 1978 – February 1979) after Boumédienne's death in December 1978.

Death

Bitat died in Paris on 10 April 2000.

Personal life

He is survived by his wife

Zohra Drif Zohra Drif Bitat ( ar, زهرة ظريف بيطاط, Zuhra Ḍrīf Bīṭāṭ, born 28 December 1934) is a retired Algerian lawyer, moudjahid (a militant of the Algerian War of Independence), and the vice-president of the Council of the Nation ...

, a member 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. ...

. Bitat and Drif went on to have three children, and now have five grandchildren. They were married until his death in 2000.

References

1925 births 2000 deaths People from Constantine, Algeria Movement for the Triumph of Democratic Liberties politicians National Liberation Front (Algeria) politicians Members of the National Liberation Front (Algeria) Presidents of the People's National Assembly of Algeria Vice presidents of Algeria Algerian revolutionaries {{Algeria-politician-stub

Career

Death

Personal life

See also

References