Ahmed Ben Bella was an Algerian revolutionary leader, a politician and a soldier. He served as the Head of government for a year and became the first Algerian president from the 15th of September 1963 to the 19th of June 1965.
In Algeria’s political landscape, he is highly revered and well respected. Ahmed Ben Bella is regarded as the highest elder statesman and the principal leader of the country, mainly because of the major role he played during the colonial era. He received many awards and honors across the globe, both as a soldier or as a socio-political leader.
Algeria’s first constitution was passed by him and did a lot of post-colonial infrastructure within the short time he was in office before he was overthrown.
Here Are Notable Things About Ahmed Ben Bella;
Early Life And Background
Ahmed Ben Bella was born on the 25th of December, 1916. He was born into a poor family of 9, having four brothers and two sisters. His father was a landless farmer and his mother was a trader. Ahmed lost his oldest brother to severe injuries sustained during World War I when he represented France.
He also lost his second brother to sickness and his third brother got missing in 1940, when France became victorious over Nazi.
Moreover, Ahmed Ben Bella started school in Magnia, the city he was born. He left there to further his studies in Tlemcen city. This was where he came across racial abuses and discrimination. In addition, the hostility the Muslims experienced from the Europeans didn’t augur well with him at all.
As a result, he began advocating against colonialism and imperialism, as he condemned the French socio-cultural influence over Algeria. He also became part of the nationalist movement in the country.
A Military Man
One of the ways of advancement of Algeria under the Frennch colony is the military. Ahmed Ben Bella decided to serve the French Army in 1936, as one could volunteer to be enlisted in the military.
Moreover, he was posted to the South of France, Marseille. He played football for Olympique de Marseille, as a center midfielder. Although, he played for the club once against FC Antibes in the French Cup in 1940.
He was offered a professional contract in the cub but he declined the offer. Ahmed was enlisted into the French military again because he believed the French Army were not discriminatory towards Algerians.
As a result, he fought for France in World War II, getting decorated twice and being honored with the “Croix de Guerre“, after he piloted an anti-craft air post during the war against the Nazis.
However, he was discharged after France fell. He went ahead to join the Moroccan Infantry ( a free French regiment), where he fought for Italy. In Italy, he was honored for the bravery he showed at the Battle of Monte Cassino.
He was also decorated with a promotion to the rank of warrant officer. In addition, he received the most revered decoration of the Free French Forces from Charles de Gaulle himself.
Before Independence
In 1945, Ahmed Ben Bella made a return back to his country after the Sétif and Guelma massacre. However, his coming back was politically motivated, as he became active politically against the French regime. He became a target for the French authorities as a result. They sent assassins to him for his elimination on his farm.
His farm was assassinated but his life wasn’t, as he ran into hiding. Ben Bella became so sure that peaceful and democratic independence was a pipe dream after the nationalist parties came out successful in the local elections and when the Algerian Assembly elections were fixed to 1948, backed by the Socialist Governor-General Marcel-Edmond Naegelen.
As a result, he collaborated with Messali Hadji’s party to form the organization Spéciale (OS). It was an unofficial military organization set up to arm wrestle the French colonial government as soon as possible. The organization became the forerunner of the National Liberation Front. Moreover, he was the one who set up the regional military sections of the FLN (Wilayas) by distributing weapons to terrorists and getting funded by the Arab countries.
On the 4th of April 1949, he spearheaded a robbery attack at the central post office in Oran to fund the organization. He got 3 million francs from the robbery which he used in buying weapons. Ben Bella was caught a year later and was sentenced to prison in Blida jail. Ben Bella broke out from jail in 1952 by cutting his prison window bars with a smuggled knife. He ran off to Cairo where the then-president, granted him sanctuary.
When the Algerian War started. Ahmed Ben Bella was still in Cairo, Egypt. He had become a member of the 9-membered Revolutionary Committee of Unity and Action, that led the Front de Liberation Nationale (FLN).
Algerian War
The FLN started waging war against the French colonists. This became a guerilla war in the country. Ahmed Ben Bella played a major part during the war. He led the FLN by securing the shipment of weapons and setting up the political strategy. Ben Bella was not present in the country during the war, but his life wasn’t totally saved. The French authorities didn’t give up on killing him. Immediately after the country got its independence, he was named the Vice president of the nation by Benyoucef Benkhedda.
Furthermore, Ben Bella took up the responsibility of developing routes and systemic bases for the National Liberation Army (ALN). During the earlier years of the war, the ALN has its focus on Egypt and Libya. Immediately, Morocco and Tunisia got their independence from France, he and his camps created military camps in these countries for ALN military training before they were sent back to Algeria.
Moreover, his life was still under numerous death threats and attempts. He didn’t collect a package meant for him in his hotel, the taxi that came to deliver it exploded on its return. Ahmed Ben Bella was nearly killed in his hotel by a man who worked for the French Intelligence but the man was killed while fleeing.
He was finally arrested in the country’s capital city in 1956 and was released on the 5th of July, 1962. During the FLN conference in 1962, he made the implementation of a national Arab Islamic culture and Algeria’s identity the center of the discussion.
He described himself as a “Nasserist“, developing close relationship with Egypt. However, his total and unwavering support for FLN became a geopolitical problem for Egypt. It is onee major factor that led to France attacking the country during the Suez Crisis.
Algerian Independence
The FLN started waging war against the French colonists. This became a guerilla war in the country. After Algeria got its independence, Bella quickly became the people’s person. He became the main opposition to Benyoucef Benkhedda’s leadership. This didn’t go down well with his rivals in the FLN. As Ben exponentially grew in supporters, the tension in the FLN started fading off.
His major supporter was Houari Boumédiènne whose troops helped Ben Bella to seize power. As a result, Ahmed Ben Bella became the numero-uno of Algeria till he was elected in a one-sided election on the 20th of September 1962. He was recognized by the United States 9 days later and gained UN recognition on the 8th of October 1962 and Algeria became the 109th member of the United Nations that same day.
His administration began with the legalization of autogestion seizures undertaken by the the Algerian workers. Furthermore, he gave decrees to nationalize all lands formerly owned by the Europeans.
Moreover, Bella did not live in the governor’s house. He was a government of the people, as he maintained an open-door policy with his people.
However, Ben Bella was faced with an uphill task of erecting a democratic state infrastructure. The country’s state traditions and civil servants had always been dependent on the French. After bringing the country to stability, he started a series of land reform programs for stranded farmers which gained people’s support initially but was chaotically executed.
He started facing political problems with former leaders of FLN. In addition, he encountered religious challenges. In 1965, he was overthrown in a bloodless coup d’etat by his defense minister and his former supporter, Houari Boumédiène.
House Arrest
After his government was overthrown, Ahmed Ben Bella was arrested and detained for 8 months behind bars. He was then moved to a villa in Birouta, where he was placed on a 14-year house arrest but he was allowed to have his life there with some certain restrictions.
Moreover, he married Zohra Sellami in 1971. She was an Algerian journalist and they adopted two female children. After the death of Boumédiène in 1989, the restrictions were eased, and later got his freedom on 30th of October 1980.
He lived in France before he faced expulsion from the country in 1983. He then moved to Switzerland in 1984 and started the Mouvement pour la Démocratie en Algérie (MDA), an Islamic opposition party. Ben Bella returned back to his country in 1990 and was at the forefront of the MDA’s first abortive parliamentary polls. 7 years later, the MDA was banned in the country.
Later Life
He became president of the International Campaign Against Aggression on Iraq at its conference held in Cairo. In several interviews, he always told people that he saw himself as an Islamist of a “mild and peace-loving flavor”.
Shockingly, he became an advocate for a democratic government in Algeria. This was years after his one-party state during his tenure.
Despite his not too many shortcomings, he was revered and honored for the important role he played during the anti-colonial rule in Algeria. Ahmed Ben Bella was also seen and regarded by many Arab socialites and intellectuals as one of the remaining Arab nationalists.
State Funeral
It was reported that Ahmed Ben Bella had given up the ghost solely because he was taken into a hospital for a medical check-up on the 12th of February, 2012. His family members came out to clear the air on the false news. Nearly 2 months after that, Ahmed Ben Bella finally gave up the ghost at age 95 in his family house, in the capital city of the country, Algiers. The cause of his death is still not known today, but he had been medically looked after for respiratory diseases.
He was buried on the 12th of April at El Alia Cemetery. Algeria mourned him for 13 days and 8 days was declared for his mourning nationally.
Conclusion
Ahmed Ben Bella is remembered and celebrated for his bravery, doggedness, and his success against colonialism.
His story is inspirational for every African child. Through hardship and dedication, he got to the top. His dedication and determination were constant throughout his lifetime.
