Algeria: Former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika dies at 84; cause of death not disclosed

The former President of Algeria, Abdelaziz Bouteflika has passed away at the age of 84. According to a report on ENTV, the reason for death and information regarding funeral plans are not disclosed from the office of current Algerian president Abdelmadjid Tebboune. Bouteflika had a stroke in the year 2013, and that left him extremely weak. His health conditions were kept hidden from the Algerian people, which added to the population's dissatisfaction with his 20-year corrupted leadership. Later, His resignation was precipitated by enormous public demonstrations organised by the Hirak organisation. 

Since his fight for freedom from colonial master France in the 1950s and 1960s, Bouteflika has earned a reputation as a skilled political. Bouteflika, who served as Algeria's long-serving foreign minister, walked up to Henry Kissinger, who was the United States Secretary of State, managed to negotiate with the terror organisation known as Carlos the Jackal and assisted in the reconciliation of Algerian people after ten years of civil war among radical Muslim militants and Algeria's government troops.  

Abdelaziz Bouteflika was an anti-establishment politician

As per AP, Abdelaziz Bouteflika told on the night of his first presidential triumph in 1999 that he was an anti-establishment politician and a revolutionary. He won following a campaign marred by allegations of fraud that forced his six opponents to withdraw from the election. Bouteflika pledged when he took office that he would finally turn the gloomy pages of the nation's history to strive for a new generation.  

Bouteflika became Algeria's first civilian president for over three decades when he assumed the presidency in 1999. In 2005, he unveiled an ambitious proposal to reunite the split country by convincing Muslim extremists to lay down their guns, bringing stability to a nation. 

After having a stroke between his third and fourth presidential mandates, Bouteflika became increasingly obscure. The amount to which the army had power over Bouteflika remained unknown. He previously told the Associated Press that he passed down the presidency in 1994 because he couldn't accept the military's terms. After announcing plans to seek a fifth term in 2019, Algeria's Hirak demonstrations began, and Bouteflika didn't have an option but to resign due to the increase of the nation's unrest. 

Bouteflika was born in the Moroccan border town of Oujda on March 2, 1937, to Algerian parents. He was one of Algeria's most lasting leaders. 

Image: AP