Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who controlled the nation for two decades before stepping down in 2019 after massive demonstrations, has died at the age of 84, according to official television.
Following weeks of protests against his ambition to seek for a fifth term in power, the former strongman resigned in April 2019 under military pressure.
He had kept out of the spotlight after resigning at a home in western Algiers.
The news of his death was received with minimal fanfare in the North African country late Friday evening, illustrating how his absence had pushed him out of the public eye.
Following the death of former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the Algerian national flag is flown at half-mast in the capital Algiers on September 18, 2021.
Bouteflika, who ruled Algeria for two decades before stepping down in 2019 after massive demonstrations, has died at the age of 84, according to official television.
Following weeks of protests against his ambition to seek for a fifth term in power, the former strongman resigned in April 2019 under military pressure.
Bouteflika’s successor, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, said flags will be lowered to half staff for three days to honor him, citing his background as a warrior in the struggle for independence from France.
However, many citizens in Algiers’ capital told AFP that the once-dominant president will be missed.
But he is unworthy of praise since he has done nothing for the country,” remarked greengrocer Rabah.
Malek, a telecommunications worker, claimed that despite his long reign, Bouteflika “was incapable of changing the country.”
Even state broadcasters focused their attention on the news of his death, rather than airing special bulletins about his legacy.
Sabqpress news website said the funeral would take place on Sunday at the El-Alia cemetery east of the capital where his predecessors and other independence fighters are buried.
There was no immediate confirmation from authorities.
Bouteflika became president of Algeria in 1999 as the former French colony emerged from a decade of civil war that killed nearly 200,000 people.
He went on to be elected for three more consecutive five-year terms, most recently in 2014.
Dubbed “Boutef” by Algerians, he won respect as a foreign minister in the 1970s and then for helping foster peace after the civil war, notably with an amnesty law that prompted thousands of Islamist fighters to hand in their weapons.
“He was welcomed in countries around the world, and the country improved when Bouteflika became president,” said kitchen porter Amer, 46.
Journalist Farid Alilat, who has written a biography of Bouteflika, says that at the height of his rule in the early 2000s, the president had “all the levers of power”.
Crucially, he was backed by the army and the intelligence services.
“He became an absolute president,” Alilat told AFP.
Algeria was largely spared the wave of uprisings that swept the Arab world in 2011, with many crediting still-painful memories of the civil war — as well as a boost in state handouts — for keeping a lid on tensions.
But Bouteflika’s rule was marked by corruption, leaving many Algerians wondering how a country with vast oil wealth could end up with poor infrastructure and high unemployment that pushed many young people overseas.
“He had a very comfortable life, even after he was ousted from power. But we have to admit that his legacy isn’t the most glowing”, said carpenter Mohamed, 46.
Bouteflika’s declining health began to undermine his leadership credibility in his final years.
Despite rising public questions about his capacity to lead, he opted to seek a fourth mandate despite having a mini-stroke in April 2013 that impaired his speech and required him to use a wheelchair.
His quest for a fifth term in 2019 triggered enraged demonstrations that evolved into the Hirak pro-democracy movement.
He was compelled to resign after losing the army’s support.
The Hirak mass protests continued, with demands for a full overhaul of the ruling system in place since Algeria’s independence from France in 1962.
Some key Bouteflika-era figures were eventually jailed in corruption cases, including Bouteflika’s powerful brother Said, but the long-sought changes did not happen.
Bouteflika’s successor Tebboune was elected in late 2019 on record low turnout, with the Hirak calling for a boycott.
A referendum on a constitutional amendment seen as aiming to torpedo the Hirak generated even less interest from voters.
But the protest movement was suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic and has struggled to regain momentum as the government cracks down on opposition.
According to the CNLD prisoners’ group, around 200 people are in jail in connection with the Hirak or over individual freedoms.
And with the Bouteflika-era old guard still largely ruling the country, the legacy of two decades of his rule is mixed.
“For his entire life, Abdelaziz Bouteflika was driven by two obsessions: take power and keep it at any price,” said Alilat.
“But it was this obsession… that sparked the revolt that drove him from power.”
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