A file photo taken on April 09, 1999 shows Algerian presidential
candidate Abdelaziz Bouteflika, nominally independent but backed by
Algeria's former sole ruling party, the National Liberation Front,
addressing supporters in Adrar, some 1,400 kms south of Algiers. PHOTO |
MANOOCHER DEGHATI | AFP
Algerian leader Abdelaziz Bouteflika held onto power for some 20
years through a debilitating stroke but the veteran of the independence
struggle finally appears to have lost his grip in the face of mass
protests.
His presidency, the longest
in the history of the North African state, survived the Arab Spring
uprisings that toppled other leaders in the region.
But
on Tuesday, after weeks of demonstrations against his rule and a demand
from the army to start impeachment proceedings, Bouteflika bowed to the
pressure and submitted his resignation, state media said.
It
was Bouteflika's bid for a fifth term in office earlier this year that
sparked public anger and brought hundreds of thousands out onto the
streets across the country demanding he step down.
Dubbed
Boutef by Algerians, he had helped foster peace after a decade-long
civil war in the North African country in the 1990s which killed nearly
200,000 people.
"I am the whole of Algeria. I am the embodiment of the Algerian people," he said in 1999, the year he became president.
In
recent years, Bouteflika has had a history of medical problems. A stroke
in 2013 affected his mobility and speech, and he has used a wheelchair
ever since. He is rarely seen or heard in public.
He has also faced criticism from rights groups and opponents who accuse him of being authoritarian.
When
Bouteflika came to power with the support of an army battling Islamist
guerrillas, nobody expected him to stay in office for so long.
After
his election he addressed critics who saw him as another puppet of the
military, saying: "I'm not three-quarters of a president."
Paradoxically,
it was only after his stroke that Bouteflika was able to consolidate
power in a country where the shadowy intelligence service has long been
viewed as a "state within a state".
Birthplace
Bouteflika was born in Morocco on March 2, 1937 to a family from western Algeria.
At the age of 19 he joined the National Liberation Front (FLN) in its struggle against the French colonial rulers.
When
independence came in 1962, he was appointed minister of sport and
tourism at the age of just 25, under Algeria's first president, Ahmed
Ben Bella.
He became foreign minister
the following year, a post he held for more than a decade, but was
sidelined after the death of president Houari Boumediene in 1978 and
went into self-imposed exile.
While
he was abroad the military-backed government cancelled the 1991
elections, which an Islamist party had been poised to win, sparking a
decade of bloodletting.
Bouteflika
returned from Switzerland in 1999 to stand for president with the
backing of the army which saw in him a potential figure of
reconciliation.
He initially faced six rivals, but when the opponents dropped out, crying foul, he found himself the only candidate.
He
proposed an amnesty for rebels who laid down their arms and twice
secured public endorsement for "national reconciliation" through
referendums.
The
first, in September 1999, was a major gamble but paid off, leading to a
sharp decrease in violence that helped propel Bouteflika to a second
term in 2004.
Arab Spring
His third term in 2009 followed a constitutional amendment allowing him to stand again.
His
supporters argue that under his stewardship public and private
investment created millions of jobs and dramatically lowered
unemployment.
But a lack of opportunity continues to drive many Algerians abroad as youth unemployment remains high.
When
the Arab Spring erupted in January 2011, Bouteflika rode out the storm
by lifting a 19-year state of emergency and using oil revenues to grant
pay rises.
For political
commentator Rashid Tlemcani, Bouteflika "should have left office at the
end of his second term, after securing national reconciliation and
conquering the hearts of a large part of the population".
In April 2013, Bouteflika was rushed to hospital in France after his stroke, and spent three months recovering.
He had already been hospitalised in Paris in 2005 because of intestinal problems from which he never fully recovered.
Bouteflika's
decision to seek a fourth mandate in 2014 after 15 years in power
sparked both derision and criticism from those who questioned his
ability to rule.
81PC
He did not even campaign and voted from a wheelchair, but still won an official 81 percent of the vote.
But
it was Bouteflika's bid for a fifth term in elections, which had been
due to be held in April, that proved the last straw for many Algerians.
His
candidacy was formally submitted on March 3 while he was in Switzerland
for what the presidency described as another round of routine medical
tests.
On March 10, he returned home, and the next day pulled out of the race, and cancelled the elections.
Initial elation from demonstrators, turned to anger when he confirmed he would stay on in power beyond the term of his mandate.
They
returned to the streets in their hundreds of thousands to push again
for him to leave and a string of key allies began abandoning the
president.
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