Editing History of Algeria (section)

=== The 1965 coup and the Boumédienne military regime ===
[[File:Algerian Economy 1972.ogv|thumb|Newsreel film about the Algerian economy in 1972]]
{{main|1965 Algerian coup d'état}}

On 19 June 1965, [[Houari Boumédiène]] deposed Ahmed Ben Bella in a military [[coup d'état]] that was both swift and bloodless. Ben Bella "[[forced disappearance|disappeared]]", and would not be seen again until he was released from house arrest in 1980 by Boumédiène's successor, Colonel [[Chadli Bendjedid]]. Boumédiène immediately dissolved the [[People's National Assembly|National Assembly]] and suspended the 1963 constitution. Political power resided in the Nation Council of the Algerian Revolution (''Conseil National de la Révolution Algérienne''—CNRA), a predominantly military body intended to foster cooperation among various factions in the army and the party.

Houari Boumédiène's position as head of government and of state was initially insecure, partly because of his lack of a significant power base outside of the armed forces. He relied strongly on a network of former associates known as the [[Oujda group]], named after Boumédiène's posting as [[National Liberation Army (Algeria)|National Liberation Army]] (''Armée de Libération Nationale''—ALN) leader in the [[Morocco|Moroccan]] border town of [[Oujda]] during the war years, but he could not fully dominate his fractious regime. This situation may have accounted for his deference to collegial rule.

Over Boumédiène's 11-year reign as Chairman of the CNRA, the council introduced two formal mechanisms: the [[People's Municipal Assembly]] (''Assemblée Populaires Communales'') and the [[People's Provincial Assembly]] (''Assemblée Populaires de Wilaya'') for popular participation in politics. Under Boumédiène's rule, leftist and socialist concepts were merged with [[Islam]].

Boumédiène also used Islam to opportunistically consolidate his power.<ref>Willis, M. (1996). The Islamist Challenge in Algeria: A Political history. Reading, UK: Ithaca Press</ref>  On one hand, he made token concessions and cosmetic changes to the government to appear more Islamic, such as putting Islamist [[Ahmed Taleb Ibrahimi]] in charge of national education in 1965 and adopting policies criminalizing gambling, establishing Friday as the national holiday, and dropping plans to introduce birth control to paint an Islamic image of the new government.  But on the other hand, Boumédiène's government also progressively repressed Islamic groups, such as by ordering the dissolution of Al Qiyam.
[[File:Nasser,_Aref,_Boumieddin,_Atassi,_Azhari.jpg|alt=Nasser, Aref, Boumieddin, Atassi, Azhari|thumb|Arab heads of state in [[Cairo]] to discuss previous talks with [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] leaders. From left to right: [[Abdul Rahman Arif|Abd al-Rahman Arif]] of Iraq, [[Houari Boumédiène|Houari Boumediene]] of Algeria, [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]] of Egypt, [[Nureddin al-Atassi|Nurredin al-Atassi]] of Syria and [[Ismail al-Azhari]] of Sudan]]
Following attempted coups—most notably that of chief-of-staff Col. [[:fr:Tahar Zbiri|Tahar Zbiri]] in December 1967—and a failed [[assassination]] attempt on 25 April 1968, Boumédiène consolidated power and forced military and political factions to submit. He took a systematic, authoritarian approach to state building, arguing that Algeria needed stability and an economic base before building any political institutions.

Eleven years after Boumédiène took power, after much public debate, a long-promised new constitution was promulgated in November 1976. The constitution restored the National Assembly and gave it legislative, consent, and oversight functions.<ref>Cook, S.A. 
 (2007).  Ruling but not Governing:  The military and Political Development in  Egypt, Algeria and Turkey.  Baltimore:  Johns Hopkins University Press</ref>  Boumédiène was later elected president with 95 percent of the cast votes.