Ahmed Ouyahia

Infobox Prime Minister

---

name = Ahmed Ouyahia
أحمد أويحيى
order = Prime Minister of Algeria
president = Abdelaziz Bouteflika
term_start = 23 June 2008
term_end =
predecessor = Abdelaziz Belkhadem
successor =
president2 = Abdelaziz Bouteflika
term_start2 = 05 May 2003
term_end2 = 24 May 2006
predecessor2 = Ali Benflis
successor2 = Abdelaziz Belkhadem
president3 = Liamine Zéroual
term_start3 = 31 December 1995
term_end3 = 15 December 1998
predecessor3 = Mokdad Sifi
successor3 = Smail Hamdani
birth_date = birth date and age|1952|07|02|df=y
birth_place = Bouadnane, Tizi Ouzou, Algeria
spouse =
party = RND
religion =

Ahmed Ouyahia ( _ar. أحمد أويحيى) (born July 2, 1952) is an Algerian politician who has been Prime Minister of Algeria since June 2008. He was previously Prime Minister from 1995 to 1998 and from 2003 to 2006.

Ouyahia was born in the village of Bouadnane in the Wilaya of Tizi Ouzou in the Kabylie region of Algeria. Following a primary education starting in Algiers in the academic year 1958/1959 and ending in the academic year 1964/1965, Ouyahia followed a secondary education at the Lycee El Idrissi in Algiers starting from the academic year 1965/1966.Ouyahia obtained his diploma of Baccalauréat ès-lettres in 1972.

In 1972, Ahmed Ouyahia joined the entry examination for the "Ecole Nationale d'Administration" of Algiers. Having scored among the top three applicants, along with Ahmed Attaf, Ouyahia joined the Ecole Nationale d'Administration and specialised in Diplomacy. He graduated in 1976 and did his military service in 1977/1978. During this period, Ahmed Ouyahia did his military placement at the El Mouradia compound of the Algerian Presidency where he was a member of the press relations team.

In 1978 Ouyahia joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was assigned to the African Affairs Department. In 1981 he was sent as an advisor for foreign affairs to the ambassador of Algeria in Côte d'Ivoire, where he served until 1984. In 1984 he was assigned as a foreign affairs advisor to the Head of the Permanent Mission of Algeria at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

From 1988 to 1989 Ouyahia was co-representative to the United Nations Security Council. He was an advisor to the Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1990 to 1991, and in 1991 Ouyahia became the general director of the African Department of the Algerian Foreign Affairs Ministry.

He led the African Department until August 1992, when he was sent as Algeria's ambassador to Mali. In Mali, he secured a peace deal between the warring Malian government and the Azawad Tuareg movement, with his "Pacte National" treaty. In August 1993, Ouyahia was called back to Algiers to serve in the government of Redha Malek as Under Secretary of State for African and Arab Affairs.

In April 1994 he was nominated as the Cabinet Director of President Liamine Zeroual, where he was in charge of political affairs such as the negotiations with the leaders of the banned Islamic Salvation Front party (FIS) and the preparations of the 1995 presidential elections that President Liamine Zeroual won in November 1995.

In December 1995 Ouyahia was nominated Prime Minister and held that position until December 1999, when he resigned following the election of Abdelaziz Bouteflika to the presidency of Algeria. In 2000 Ouyahia was elected leader of his party, the National Rally for Democracy (RND).

He was nominated as Minister of State and Minister of Justice in 2000 under Bouteflika's first government. During this time Ouyahia was assigned the task of securing a peace deal in the war between Ethiopia and Eritrea by Bouteflika, who was also President of Organisation for African Unity during the year 2000. Ouyahia worked in conjunction with Anthony Lake, former National Security Advisor to President Bill Clinton of the United States, and a peace deal was secured and signed in Algiers in December 2000.

In June 2002, following the defeat of the RND in the 2002 parliamentary election, Ouyahia resigned and was nominated in the next government as Minister of State and Special Representative of the President, an honorary position entailing no governing power. In May 2003, Ouyahia was nominated as Prime Minister for a second time, following a political crisis between President Bouteflika and Prime Minister Ali Benflis, who was dismissed. Ouyahia served as Prime Minister for three years, until his resignation on May 24, 2006 amidst political arguments between Ouyahia's political party and Bouteflika's political party, the FLN.

After some prominent involvement in international diplomatic meetings earlier in 2008, Ouyahia was again named Prime Minister by Bouteflika on June 23, 2008. On this occasion, he pledged "to continue to apply the policy programme of the President of the Republic". [ [http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5ibXccYnSFammEXKSc2xWUWdrC7hA "Algerian president brings back Ouyahia for third stint as PM"] , AFP, June 23, 2008.]

References

* [http://www.britannica.com/eb/topic-15001/Algeria Algeria -- Encyclopaedia Britannica]
* [http://www.britannica.com/eb/topic-1007655/Ahmed-Ouyahia Ahmed Ouyahia, or Ahmed Ouyahya (prime minister of Algeria)]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4180887 BBC NEWS | World | Africa | Algeria strikes deal with Berbers]