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Abdelkader Bensalah
عبد القـادر بن صالح
Abdelkader Bensalah 18th Summit of Non-Aligned Movement in Baku (cropped).jpg
Bensalah in 2019
Head of State of Algeria
Acting
In office
9 April 2019 – 19 December 2019
Prime Minister Noureddine Bedoui
Preceded by Abdelaziz Bouteflika
(President)
Succeeded by Abdelmadjid Tebboune
(President)
President of the Council of the Nation
In office
2 July 2002 – 9 April 2019
Preceded by Bachir Boumaza
Succeeded by Salah Goudjil
(Acting)
President of the People's National Assembly
In office
14 June 1997 – 10 June 2002
Preceded by Himself
(President of the National Transitional Council)
Succeeded by Karim Younes
Personal details
Born (1941-11-24)24 November 1941
Fellaoucene, French Algeria
Died 22 September 2021(2021-09-22) (aged 79)
Algiers, Algeria
Political party National Liberation Front (1959–1997)
Democratic National Rally (1997–2019)

Abdelkader Bensalah (born November 24, 1941 – died September 22, 2021) was an important politician from Algeria. He served as the President of the Council of the Nation, which is like the leader of one part of Algeria's parliament. He held this role from 2002 to 2019.

In April 2019, the President of Algeria, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, stepped down. Bensalah then became the acting Head of State of Algeria. He held this temporary position until December 2019. That's when Abdelmadjid Tebboune became the new president after winning the election.

Bensalah's Political Journey

Abdelkader Bensalah had a long career in Algerian politics. He started out working in information and culture.

Early Career and Diplomacy

From 1970 to 1974, Bensalah worked in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon. He directed the Algerian Center for Information and Culture there. After that, he returned to Algeria and worked as a journalist for a state newspaper called El Chaâb.

In 1977, he was elected to represent the Tlemcen Province in Algeria. Later, he became an ambassador, representing Algeria in Saudi Arabia until 1993.

Leading in Parliament

Bensalah was a member of a political group called the Democratic National Rally (RND). He held important leadership roles in Algeria's parliament.

  • From 1994 to 1997, he was the President of the National Transitional Council.
  • From 1997 to 2002, he led the People's National Assembly.

Then, from July 2002 until April 2019, he served as the President of the Council of the Nation. This is the upper house of Algeria's parliament. He sometimes took over presidential duties, like greeting foreign leaders, especially when the former President, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, was nearing the end of his time in office. Bensalah was a strong supporter of President Bouteflika.

Acting Head of State

On April 9, 2019, Abdelkader Bensalah became the acting Head of State of Algeria. This happened after President Abdelaziz Bouteflika resigned. Bensalah's role was temporary, lasting a maximum of 90 days. During this time, a new presidential election was supposed to be held. By law, he was not allowed to run in that election himself.

On December 19, 2019, after the new president was elected, Bensalah received the National Order of Merit. This is a high honor in Algeria.

Personal Life and Passing

Abdelkader Bensalah was born on November 24, 1941, in Felaoussene, a place near Tlemcen in what was then French Algeria.

He passed away on September 22, 2021, at the age of 79. He died from cancer at the Aïn Nadja Military Hospital in Algiers. His health had become worse after he caught COVID-19. His death was announced by the President's Office, just five days after the death of former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. Flags in Algeria were flown at half-mast for three days to show mourning. He was buried at the El Alia Cemetery on September 23.

Honours

National Honour

  • National Order of Merit - Athir v.1 (Algeria) - ribbon bar.gif - the National Order of Merit with the rank of Sadr

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Abdelkader Bensalah para niños

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