Where was Ahmed Ben Bella born and raised?

Ahmed Ben Bella was born in Maghnia, in the former department of Oran, western Algeria, on 25 December 1916, during the height of the French colonial period. He was the son of a farmer and small businessman, who supported his family through this economic activities.

Where was Ahmed Ben Bella during the Algerian War?

At the outbreak of the Algerian War in 1954, Ben Bella was based in Cairo, where he had become one of the nine members of the Revolutionary Committee of Unity and Action that headed the Front de Liberation Nationale (FLN), founded in November that year during a secret meeting of Algerian leaders in Switzerland.

Why was Ahmed Ben Bella important to the FLN?

Ben Bella (right) after his arrest by the French army. Ben Bella played an important role on the war leading the FLN, organizing the shipment of foreign weapons and coordinating political strategy. Although he was not present in Algeria, attempts against his life persisted.

Ahmed Ben Bella was born into a modest peasant family on December 25, 1918, at Marnia, a small town near the Algerian-Moroccan frontier. In 1937, a few years after completing primary school, he was drafted into the French army.

What did Ahmed Ben Bella do for Algeria?

Ben Bella allied himself with the anti-Zionist Arab states and developed cultural and economic relations with France. He also extricated the country from an important border dispute with Morocco. Ben Bella’s method of government pleased the Algerian people, but the effects of his policies were not always as beneficial as his generous intentions.

Who is the author of Ahmed Ben Bella?

An account of Ben Bella’s life to the mid-1960s is Robert Merle, Ahmed Ben Bella (1965; trans. 1967). A historical consideration of the development of the FLN is provided in Henry F. Jackson, The FLN in Algeria: Party Development in a Revolutionary Society (1977).

Who was the mastermind of the Ahmed Ben Bella coup?

After about two years in office, Ahmed Ben Bella’s government was overthrown in the bloodless coup of June 1965. The mastermind of the coup was his defense minister, Houari Boumédiène. Boumédiène then placed Ben Bella in an underground prison for over eight months.