National Council of the Algerian Revolution
Conseil national de la Révolution algérienne | |
| Abbreviation | CNRA |
|---|---|
| Successor | Constituent Assembly |
| Formation | 20 August 1956 |
| Founders | National Liberation Front (FLN) |
| Dissolved | 6 June 1962 (last meeting; never reconvened) |
| Type | Provisional unicameral assembly / supreme FLN council |
| Headquarters | Cairo / Tripoli (meeting locations) |
| Location |
|
| Membership | 34 (at foundation) |
President | Mohamed Seddik Ben Yahia |
The National Council of the Algerian Revolution (CNRA; French: Conseil national de la Révolution algérienne) was created during the Soummam conference of the FLN. It served as the supreme organ of the FLN during the Algerian War of Independence.[1] The CNRA alone was empowered to take decisions on political, military, economic and social orientation. The CNRA designated/appointed the members of the Comité de coordination et d'exécution (CCE).
History
Creation
At its creation in August 1956, at the Congress of the Soummam, the CNRA comprised thirty-four members: seventeen full members and seventeen alternates. The statutes adopted specified that the CNRA was "the supreme body of the Algerian revolution, (...), director of the war of national liberation, holder of the sovereignty of the Algerian people, and, as such, provisional constituent and political governing body of the FLN" and that it "decides on the ceasefire by a four-fifths majority of members present or represented."[2]
August 1957 meeting
The CNRA meeting held in Cairo on 27 August 1957 adopted the activity report of the CCE. The CNRA moved to "unravel the essential devices of the Congress of the Soummam" by adopting a new resolution stipulating that all participants in the liberation struggle, with or without uniform, were equal. Consequently, there was to be no primacy of the political over the military nor a distinction between inside (Algeria) and outside (external FLN structures). The CNRA approved the enlargement of the committee from 34 to 54 members (all full members) and expanded the CCE from five to nine leaders.[3]
August 1961 meeting
The CNRA met in Tripoli from 9 to 27 August 1961 to debate the negotiations of the Évian Accords and the organisation of power. It removed Ferhat Abbas from the presidency of the GPRA and appointed Benyoucef Benkhedda in his place.[4]
February 1962 meeting
The CNRA met in Tripoli from 11 to 18 February 1962; the GPRA presented a report on the preliminary "Rousses" agreement (the precursor to the Évian Accords). The CNRA unanimously approved the report and agreed to continue negotiations.[5]
May–June 1962 meeting
The CNRA met in Tripoli from 25 May to 6 June 1962. On the first agenda item the Council unanimously approved the Évian Accords. On the second item — the designation of a political bureau — the atmosphere grew heated. To calm tensions, Omar Boudaoud, presiding, suspended the session and announced it would reconvene the next day. The CNRA never met again after that session.[6]
Members
The members of the CNRA recorded as members at its foundation are listed below. Full members are marked with an asterisk (*) and alternates with a double asterisk (**).[7][8]
- Mohamed Seddik Ben Yahia (**) — President
- Omar Boudaoud — First Assessor
- Ali Kafi — Second Assessor
- Abane Ramdane (*)
- Mostefa Ben Boulaïd (*)
- Aïssat Idir (*)
- Saïd Mohammedi (**)
- Mohamed Boudiaf (*)
- Hocine Aït Ahmed (*)
- Saad Dahlab (**)
- Lakhdar Bentobal (**)
- Krim Belkacem (*)
- Benyoucef Benkhedda (*)
- Ahmed Ben Bella (*)
- Larbi Ben M'hidi (*)
- Rabah Bitat (*)
- Mohamed Lamine Debaghine (*)
- Slimane Dehilès
- M'Hamed Yazid (*)
- Mohamed Khider (*)
- Ferhat Abbas (*)
- Mohand Ameziane Yazourene
- Lakhdar Bouregaa
- Boualem Bessaih
- Lamine Khene
- Zighout Youssef (*)
- Bachir Chihani (**)
- Slimane Oujlis (**)
- Abdelhafid Boussouf (**)
- Ali Mellah (Si-Cherif) (**)
- Mohamed El-Yajouri (**)
- Ahmed Francis (**)
- Brahim Mezhoudi (**)
- Abdelhamid Mehri (**)
- Tewfik El Madani (*)
- Ismaïl Mahfoud[9]
- Amar Ouamrane (*)
- Abdelmalek Temmam (**)[10]
- Tayeb Thaâlibi (alias Si Allal) (**)[11]
- Ali Haroun
- Ali Mendjeli
Notes and references
- ^ Introduction à l'étude des archives de l'Algérie. France. Armée de terre. Service historique. 1992. p. 162.
- ^ "Le Conseil national de la révolution algérienne examinerait prochainement les perspectives de négociations". Le Monde. 26 January 1961.
- ^ "20 August – 28 August 1957 : Le CNRA occulte le Caire". Algerie360.com. 28 August 2018.
- ^ Pervillé, Guy (2012). Les accords d'Evian : succès ou échec de la réconciliation franco-algérienne (1954–2012). A. Colin. ISBN 978-2-200-24907-6.
- ^ "Cela s'est passé un 27 février 1962 : Le CNRA vote l'accord préliminaire des Rousses (future Évian Accords)". Babzman. 27 February 2014.
- ^ "Hocine Aït Ahmed (2): from the kidnapping to the Évian Accords". Mediapart. 16 October 2013.
- ^ "La Croix, 15 November 1956". RetroNews (BnF).
- ^ "Algérie 1 — 20 August 1955–1956 commemorations". Algerie1.
- ^ "Le moudjahid et médecin Ismaïl Mahfoud honoré à l'occasion de son centième anniversaire". APS. 6 April 2021.
- ^ "M. Temam succède à M. Mahroug au ministère des finances algérien". Le Monde. 18 February 1976.
- ^ "Talbi Tayeb (Thaâlibi) dit Si Allal". El Watan. 20 June 2019.
See also
External links
- Le Conseil national de la révolution — list of the 34 members