National Liberation Front

National Liberation Front, the only constitutionally legal party in Algeria from 1962 to 1989. The party was a continuation of the revolutionary body that directed the Algerian war of independence against France (1954–62).

The FLN was created by the Revolutionary Committee of Unity and Action (Comité Révolutionnaire d’Unité et d’Action [CRUA]), a group of young Algerian militants, organized in March 1954. The CRUA sought to reconcile the warring factions of the nationalist movement and to wage war against the French colonial presence in Algeria. By the middle of 1956 almost all the Algerian nationalist organizations had joined the FLN, which was then reorganized so that it resembled a provisional government, including a five-member executive body and a legislative body, which consisted of all the district heads.

During the Algerian war for independence, the National Liberation Army (Armée de Libération Nationale [ALN]), under the command of Col. Houari Boumedienne, acted as the military arm of the FLN. From camps stationed behind Tunisian and Moroccan borders, the ALN’s external contingent provided logistical support and weaponry to ALN forces within the country. The war for independence continued until March 18, 1962, when the French at last signed a cease-fire agreement with the FLN at Évian-les-Bains and made provisions for future economic and social cooperation. In a referendum held July 1, 1962, the Algerians voted overwhelmingly for self-determination and approved the Évian Agreement.

The proclamation of Algerian independence on July 3, 1962, was immediately followed by a power struggle within the FLN. The Political Bureau of the FLN was created in July 1962 by Ahmed Ben Bella, Boumedienne, and Muhammad Khidr in opposition to Belkacem Krim. It attracted a broad popular following through its socialist-Islamic ideology and effective propagandizing, enabling Ben Bella to become premier in May 1963. In 1965 Ben Bella was overthrown by Boumedienne, who held tight control of the leadership of the party and government until his death in December 1978; during his rule (1965–78), the FLN party functioned mainly as an ideological apparatus, while power effectively rested in the hands of Boumedienne himself and his Council of Revolution.

Despite the convening of various congresses throughout the 1980s, the role of the FLN was not significantly increased under the presidency of Col. Chadli Bendjedid. A new constitution approved in February 1989 eliminated both the country’s socialist ideology and its one-party political system, in effect signaling the further decline of the FLN (see Algeria: Bendjedid’s move toward democracy). A number of parties subsequently emerged, several of which—including the Islamic Salvation Front (Front Islamique du Salut [FIS]), Front of Socialist Forces (Front des Forces Socialistes [FFS]), and Hamas—soon challenged the FLN.

The FLN lost greater presence in the midst of the political turmoil and violence of the 1990s as the National Democratic Rally (Rassemblement National Démocratique), formed in 1997, took a leading role. In the early 21st century, however, despite a number of internal crises, a revived FLN performed well in parliamentary and regional elections. In addition, the election of FLN member Abdelaziz Bouteflika to the country’s presidency in 1999, as well as his subsequent appointment to the largely honorary position as head of the FLN in 2005, both laid the foundation for closer links between the party and the presidency.