Abdelhafid Boussouf

Abdelhafid Boussouf was an Algerian nationalist and a leader of the National Liberation Front (FLN) during the Algerian War of Independence (1954-62). He was a member of the GPRA exile government, serving as minister of armaments and member of Oujda Group. This body, the MALG, after independence evolved into the Securité militaire (SM), or military intelligence, which eventually emerged as a pillar of the military-backed regimes of Algeria, and whose successor organization (DRS) remains of overwhelming importance in Algerian politics today. After independence, however, he personally left politics and remained outside of the governing circle to pursue a career in business. He died on December 31, 1980, in Paris. His name was given to the university of his hometown Mila.