The former president and mujahid, Liamine Zéroual, passed away on Saturday at the age of 85 at the Mohamed Seghir Nekkache Military Hospital in Algiers, according to a statement from the Algerian presidency.
“The Presidency of the Republic mourns the passing of the former President of the Republic, the mujahid Liamine Zéroual, at the Mohamed Seghir Nekkache Military Hospital in the capital this evening, after a bitter struggle with a serious illness,” the statement said.
Liamine Zéroual was born on July 3, 1941, in Batna. He joined the National Liberation Army at the age of just 16, taking part in the glorious war of independence starting in 1957.
He was later sent to the military academy in Baghdad, Iraq. After independence, he received military training in the Soviet Union, and then at the French military academy in 1974.
He held several positions within the People’s National Army. He was appointed commander of the military school in Batna, then of the Cherchell Military Academy of Combined Arms, and later took command of the 6th, 3rd, and 5th military regions. He was subsequently appointed commander of the land forces at the General Staff of the People’s National Army.
He was also appointed Minister of National Defense on July 10, 1993, during the tenure of the High Council of State.
Liamine Zéroual was appointed Head of State and Minister of National Defense on January 31, 1994, by the High Security Council, and was later elected President of Algeria on November 16, 1995.
Liamine Zéroual led the process of consolidating constitutional legitimacy through the referendum on the November 28, 1996 constitution, which established the upper house of Parliament: the Council of the Nation.
He completed the institutional framework through the legislative elections of June 5, 1997, and the local elections of October 23, 1997.
On September 11, 1998, Zéroual announced early presidential elections, and his term ended on April 27, 1999.
