Editing History of Algeria (section)

=== Civil War and Bouteflika (1992–2019) ===

After [[Chadli Bendjedid]] resigned from the presidency in the military coup of 1992, a series of figureheads were selected by the military to assume the presidency, as officers were reluctant to assume public political power even though they had manifested control over the government.  Additionally, the military's senior leaders felt a need to give a civilian face to the new political regime they had hastily constructed in the aftermath of Benjedid's ousting and the termination of elections, preferring a friendlier non-military face to front the regime.<ref name="Willis, M. 2014">Willis, M. (2014).  Politics and Power in the Maghreb : Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco from Independence to the Arab Spring.  New York: Oxford University Press</ref>

The first such head of state was [[Mohamed Boudiaf]], who was appointed president of the [[High Council of State (Algeria)|High Council of State]] (HCE) in February 1992 after a 27-year exile in Morocco.  However, Boudiaf quickly came to odds with the military when attempts by Boudiaf to appoint his own staff or form a political party were viewed with suspicion by officers.  Boudiaf also launched political initiatives, such as a rigorous anti-corruption campaign in April 1992 and the sacking of [[Khaled Nezzar]] from his post as Defence Minister, which were seen by the military as an attempt to remove their influence in the government. The former of these initiatives was especially hazardous to the many senior military officials who had benefited massively and illegally from the political system for years.<ref name="Willis, M. 2014"/>  In the end, Boudiaf was assassinated in June 1992 by one of his bodyguards with Islamist sympathies.

[[Ali Kafi]] briefly assumed the HCE presidency after Boudiaf's death, before [[Liamine Zéroual]] was appointed as a long-term replacement in 1994. However, Zéroual only remained in office for four years before he announced his retirement, as he quickly became embroiled in a clan warfare within the upper classes of the military and fell out with groups of the more senior generals.<ref name="Willis, M. 2014"/>  After this [[Abdelaziz Bouteflika]], Boumédiène's foreign minister, succeeded as the president.

As the [[Algerian civil war]] wound to a close, presidential elections were held again in April 1999. Although seven candidates qualified for election, all but [[Abdelaziz Bouteflika]], who had the support of the military as well as the [[National Liberation Front (Algeria)|National Liberation Front]] (FLN), withdrew on the eve of the election amid charges of electoral fraud and interference from the military. Bouteflika went on to win with 70 percent of the cast votes.

Despite the purportedly democratic elections, the civilian government immediately after the 1999 elections only acted as a sort of 'hijab' over the true government, mostly running day-to-day businesses, while the military still largely ran the country behind the scenes. For example, ministerial mandates to individuals were only granted with the military's approval, and different factions of the military invested in various political parties and the press, using them as pawns to gain influence.<ref name="Willis, M. 2014"/>

However, the military's influence over politics decreased gradually, leaving Bouteflika with more authority on deciding policy.  One reason for this was that the senior commanders who had dominated the political scene during the 1960s and 1970s started to retire.  Bouteflika's former experience as Boumédiène's foreign minister earned him connections that rejuvenated Algeria's international reputation, which had been tarnished in the early 1990s due to the civil war.  On the domestic front, Bouteflika's policy of "national reconciliation" to bring a close to civilian violence earned him a popular mandate that helped him to win further presidential terms in 2004, 2009 and 2014.<ref>Willis, M.  ''Politics and Power in the Maghreb : Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco from Independence to the Arab Spring''.  New York: Oxford University Press</ref>

In 2010, journalists gathered to demonstrate for press freedom and against Bouteflika's self-appointed role as editor-in-chief of Algeria's state television station.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2010/05/03/algeria-stop-suppressing-protests|title=Algeria: Stop Suppressing Protests|date=3 May 2010|work=Human Rights Watch|access-date=25 June 2017|language=en}}</ref> In February 2011, the government rescinded the state of emergency that had been in place since 1992 but still banned all protest gatherings and demonstrations. However, [[2010–12 Algerian protests|in April 2011]], over 2,000 protesters defied the official ban and took to the streets of Algiers, clashing with police forces. These protests can be seen as a part of the [[Arab Spring]], with protesters noting that they were inspired by the recent [[Egyptian revolution of 2011|Egyptian revolution]], and that Algeria was a [[police state]] that was "corrupt to the bone".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2011/02/201121235130627461.html|title=Algeria protesters push for change|website=www.aljazeera.com|access-date=25 June 2017}}</ref>

In 2019, after 20 years in office, Bouteflika announced in February that he would seek a fifth term of office. This sparked widespread discontent around Algeria and [[2019–20 Algerian protests|protests in Algiers]]. Despite later attempts at saying he would resign after his term finished in late April, Bouteflika resigned on 2 April, after the chief of the army, [[Ahmed Gaid Salah]], made a declaration that he was "unfit for office".<ref>Adam Nossiter (2 April 2019). "Algerian Leader Bouteflika Resigns Under Pressure From Army". ''New York Times''. Retrieved 21 April 2019.</ref> Despite Gaid Salah being loyal to Bouteflika, many in the military identified with civilians, as nearly 70 percent of the army are civilian conscripts who are required to serve for 18 months.<ref>{{cite news| url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/04/05/why-algerias-army-abandoned-bouteflika/| title = Why Algeria's army abandoned Bouteflika - The Washington Post| newspaper = [[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> Also, since demonstrators demanded a change to the whole governmental system, many army officers aligned themselves with demonstrators in the hopes of surviving an anticipated revolution and retaining their positions.