Ali Benflis

Benflis was born on 8 September 1944 in Batna, which is the fifth largest city in Algeria. When he was 13 years old, Benflis lost his father and older brother during the Algerian War. Benflis went to primary school in Batna, before earning his high school diploma from Hihi El Mekki High School in Constantine.

Benflis successively held the positions of General Secretary at the office of the Algerian President, as well as Chief of Staff at the Presidential Cabinet. After that, he was appointed Head of the Government and Secretary-General of the FLN Party, and it was during this post when he ran for president in the 8 April 2004 election. The results of that election were largely seen as distorted by fraud.[2]

Ali Benflis is a veteran human rights activist.[3] He is a founding member of the Algerian Human Rights League,[4] which was set up on 11 November 1987 by the Minister of the Interior El Hadi Khediri and Major-General Larbi Belkheir, with the aim of counteracting the Ligue algérienne pour la défense des droits de l'homme.[5] This organization states that it aims to defend and promote human rights in Algeria, as well as educate citizens about democracy and good governance. Benflis was a member of the executive committee of the Algerian Human Rights League, as well as a delegate for the country's eastern area. His mandate ended on 9 November 1998.

He obtained his law degree in 1968 from The Faculty of Law and Economic Sciences University in Algeria. He became a magistrate and was appointed judge at the Court of Blida in October 1968. It was shortly after this appointment, that he was posted in the central administration of the Ministry of Justice, where he became a sub-director of juvenile delinquency until the end of 1969. After that, he was appointed prosecutor at the Court of Batna until 1971. From 1971 – 1974 Benflis was acting General-Attorney at the Court of Constantine. It was during this time that he decided to cement his place in legal work, and join the bar.

In 1974, he quickly proved to be one of the most influential lawyers of his generation. So much so, that his peers elected him President of the Lawyers for the Batna area from 1983 – 1985. He was also elected as a member of the executive committee of the National Council of Lawyers during the same period. In 1987, Benflis’ stature catapulted him to the position of President of the Bar for Batna. These influential posts were what led Ali Benflis to be appointed Minister of Justice in Algeria, in November 1988.

As minister of Justice (1988 – 1991), the justice system witnessed its deepest and most daring reforms. One such measure was known as the Status of the Judicial Authorities, which established, for the first time, the independence of the judiciary. Several other laws were passed under Benflis: The law governing the lawyers’ profession which reinforced the rights of the defence, the laws related to the professions of notaries and bailiffs as well as texts relating to the clerk's office. He initiated the adoption of texts consolidating freedom and human rights such as the abolition of the banishment sentence and the elimination of the State Security Court. He improved the prison conditions.

Minister of Justice in three different governments, he will be remembered as the one who required from the authorities that certain judiciary guarantees be respected, such as the right of recourse and the right to a defending counsel for the people subjected to a measure of internment without trial taken in application of the 1991 decree instituting the Emergency State. He will also be remembered because he resigned from the government when his request was not taken into account.

Ali Benflis is married, and is the father of four children.