Lakhdar Ben Tobbal

Slimane Ben Tobbal (b. 1923 in Mila, Algeria), better known as Lakhdar Ben Tobbal, is a former Algerian resistance fighter.

Ben Tobbal was a member of the nationalist Parti du peuple Algérien (PPA), and later moved on to its paramilitary organization (Organisation Spéciale, OS) which became the embryo of the Front de libération nationale (FLN). He was one of the original "historical leaders" of the FLN's November 1, 1954 uprising against French colonialism.

A top leader of the FLN's interior armed action in the 1954-62 Algerian war of independence. Under the nom de guerre Si Abdallah, he acquired a reputation as one of its most effective and ruthless guerrilla commanders, and was nicknamed the "Algerian Beria" by outside observers.

He was a member of all three issues of the the FLN's exile government, the GPRA, in various ministerial capacities. On independence in 1962, he opposed the victorious military-backed takeover of Ahmed Ben Bella, and was arrested. On his release, he left politics, and spent the remainder of his career in various non-political bureaucratic and business posts. He today lives in Algiers.