Algeria has lost one of its most loyal and dignified sons.
On Saturday, March 28, 2026, General Liamine Zeroual—mujahid, former President of the Republic, and devoted servant of the Nation—passed away at the age of 84. Three days of national mourning were declared, and the national flag was lowered to half-mast. Yet beyond official symbols, it is the hearts of millions of Algerians that are today heavy and silent, filled with memories of years marked by fire, blood, and fear.
Liamine Zeroual was not a president like any other. He was the man of impossible moments, the one who accepted to take the helm when the Algerian ship was on the verge of sinking.*
A Mujahid Before Being a President
Born on July 3, 1941, in Batna, at the heart of the indomitable Aurès Mountains, Liamine Zeroual joined the ranks of the National Liberation Army at a very early age—only sixteen. This defining choice was neither opportunistic nor symbolic; it was existential, a matter of destiny. Like all men of his generation, he took the oath of sacrifice so that Algeria might live free and sovereign.
It was through the harshness of combat, in direct confrontation with colonial violence, that his character was forged: austere, upright, and utterly resistant to compromise.
After independence, he continued his commitment within the People’s National Army, receiving military training in Cairo, then Moscow, and later Paris, before steadily rising through the ranks of the military institution. From commanding prestigious military academies to leading strategic regions, from attaining the rank of general to becoming commander of the land forces, Zeroual knew the People’s National Army from within—its depth, its complexity, and its immense responsibilities.
Confronting Terrorism: The State Standing Firm
When Liamine Zeroual assumed the highest responsibilities of the State, Algeria was wounded and exhausted. Islamist terrorism plunged the country into bloodshed, destroyed entire families, and targeted schools, the army, intellectuals, and ordinary citizens alike. The State wavered. Fear was everywhere.
At that moment, Zeroual chose the hardest path: neither capitulation nor blind vengeance.
Yes, he defeated terrorism through force, by launching major military operations that halted the advance of armed groups and restored the authority and sovereignty of the State. But he also understood—well before many others—that lasting victory could not be purely security-based.
It was in this spirit that the Djenan El Moufti initiative emerged, laying the groundwork for a structured, lucid dialogue free of naïveté, which would later pave the way toward national reconciliation. Where some saw only weapons, Zeroual perceived the necessity of healing the deep wound opened in the body of the Nation.
An Elected President, a Power Never Usurped
In November 1995, at the height of the national tragedy, Liamine Zeroual won the presidential election—the first multi-candidate election in the history of independent Algeria. Despite threats, despite calls for boycott, the people turned out en masse. It was an act of civic resistance in the truest sense.
His tenure was marked by the adoption of a new Constitution through referendum, the organization of pluralistic legislative elections, and a clear determination to build strong institutional legitimacy in a country ravaged by suffering.
That decision alone sets him apart for eternity.
The Dignity of Silence
After 1999, Liamine Zeroual withdrew from political life. No foundations, no permanent platforms, no influence networks. Two decades of silence, restraint, and moral elevation. In 2019, during the popular Hirak movement, he refused to serve as a façade for a cosmetic political transition. He remained faithful to his principles until the very end.
Algeria will never forget him.
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