Ahmed Ben Bella

Uncommon card · No. 145741

Ahmed Ben Bella (Arabic: أحمد بن بلّة, romanized: Aḥmad bin Billah; 1916 – 11 April 2012) was an Algerian politician, soldier and revolutionary who served as the head of government of Algeria from 27 September 1962 to 15 September 1963 and then the first president of Algeria from 15 September 1963 until his overthrow on 19 June 1965. Ben Bella played an important role during the Algerian war of independence against France, leading the National Liberation Front (FLN), organizing the shipment of foreign weapons and coordinating political strategy from Cairo. Despite not being present in Algeria, the French regime attempted to murder him multiple times. Once Algeria gained independence in 1962, Ben Bella's Oujda Group seized power from Benyoucef Benkhedda's provisional government, and Ben Bella became prime minister of Algeria with Ferhat Abbas as acting president. Ben Bella succeeded Ferhat Abbas on 15 September 1963 after rapidly sidelining him, and was elected president after winning an...

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