The Congress of Soummam was the founding act of the modern Algerian state and a crucial element of success of the

Algerian War of Independence The Algerian War (also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence) ''; '' (and sometimes in Algeria as the ''War of 1 November'') was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (Algeri ...

. It took place on 20 August 1956, when the FLN's leadership in Algeria met secretly in the ''Soummam Valley'' (Ighbane and Ifri at Ouzellaguen) to compose a common platform and create a new organizational structure.

The Soummam platform

The ''Soummam platform'' reaffirmed the international strategy first outlined by

Hocine Aït Ahmed Hocine Aït Ahmed (‎; 20 August 1926 – 23 December 2015) was an Algerian politician. He was founder and leader until 2009 of the historical political opposition in Algeria. The Hocine Aït Ahmed Stadium, one of the largest stadiums by ...

. Rather than a military victory, it looked for "the total weakening of the

French army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

to make victory by arms impossible". In the process, the FLN would establish their bona fides as Algeria's legitimate government and adhere to international law. To that end, the ''Congress of Soummam'' formed a five-man ''Comité de Coordination et d'Exécution'' (CCE) consisting 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 kn ...

, Ben M'hidi,

Krim Belkacem Krim Belkacem ( or ) (September 14, 1922 – October 18, 1970) was an Algerian revolutionary and politician who was a notable figure during the Algerian War. As vice-president of the GPRA, he was the sole signatory of the Évian Accords on the ...

, Benyoucef Benkhedda and

Saad Dahlab Saad Dahlab (April 18, 1918 – December 16, 2000) was an Algerian nationalist and politician. A long-time national activist, he played a part in virtually all the early Algerian nationalist movements: L' Étoile Nord-Africaine (ENA), the Parti ...

—the last two were formerly Central Committee members of 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 platfo ...

. A larger ''Conseil National de la Révolution Algérienne'' (CNRA) would serve as the supreme authority. In the meantime, the FLN intended to engineer such social and economic disruption in Metropolitan France and Algeria as to make it impossible for France to continue the war. Equally important, it would work for "the political isolation of France—in Algeria and in the world". The three guiding principles of the FLN were codified: the primacy of the political over the military, the primacy of the interior over the exterior, and the concept of collective leadership at all echelons. Measures to increase support among the Algerian population and to eliminate opposing groups were adopted, and terms were laid down for any future peace negotiations with the French, including the very important provision that there should be no ceasefire before the French recognised Algerian independence. The negotiating points adopted at Soummam were subsequently adhered to without modification until independence was achieved in 1962.

Titular members

The National Council of the Algerian Revolution was designed after the conference and was composed of 34 members: 17 titular, and 17 alternates. * Mostefa Ben Boulaïd * Youssef Zighout * Belkacem Krim * Amar Ouamrane * Larbi Ben M’Hidi *

Rabah Bitat Rabah Bitat (; ALA-LC: ''Rābaḥ Bīṭāṭ''; 19 December 1925 – 10 April 2000) was an Algerian nationalist and politician. He served as interim President of Algeria from 1978 to 1979, after Houari Boumédiène's death. Career Bitat was ...

* Mohamed Boudiaf * Ramdane Abane *

Ahmed Ben Bella Ahmed Ben Bella (; 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 and then the first president of ...

* Mohamed Khider *

* Med Lamine Debaghine * Idir Aïssat *

Ferhat Abbas Ferhat Abbas (; ALA-LC: ; 24 August 1899 – 24 December 1985) was an Algerian politician who acted in a provisional capacity as the then yet-to-become independent country's Prime Minister from 1958 to 1961, as well as the first President of the ...

* M’hamed Yazid * Benyoucef Ben Khedda * Taoufik El Madani

Alternate members

* Ben Boulaïd's Assistant * Lakhdar Ben Tobbal *

Saïd Mohammedi Colonel Saïd Mohammedi (; 27 December 1912 – 6 December 1994), also known as Si Nacer, was an Algerian nationalist, soldier and politician. Early life and collaborationism Born in the Berbers, Berber Kabyle people, Kabyle region of Tizi ...

* Slimane Déhilès * Abdelhafid Boussouf * Ali Mellah * Saâd Dahlab * Salah Louanchi * Mohammed Ben Yahia *

Abdelhamid Mehri Abdelhamid Mehri (April 1926 – 30 January 2012) was an Algerian resistance fighter, soldier and politician.Rabah Beldjenna, Abdelhamid Mehri est décédé lundi à Alger, '' El Watan'', 30 January 2012 Born into a destitute family in Constan ...

* Tayeb Thaâlibi * Mohammed Lebdjaoui * Ahmed Francis * Aïssa Ben Atallah * UGTA * Brahim Mezhoudi * Abdel-Malek Temmam

References

{{coord, 36.7500, N, 5.0667, E, source:wikidata, display=title 1956 in the Algerian War 1956 in Algeria 1956 conferences National Liberation Front (Algeria)