Saïd Mohammedi
Encyclopedia
Col. Saïd Mohammedi or Si Nacer, was an Algeria
n nationalist and politician.
Born in the Berber
Kabyle
region of Tizi Ouzou
, Saïd Mohammadi served in the French army. Attracted to Arab nationalism
, and intensely religious
, he became involved with the Mufti
of Jerusalem, Hajj
Amin al-Husseini. During World War II
, he joined the Mufti to work with the German Luftwaffe
, hoping that Hitler's defeat of France
would lead to the liberation of Algeria and other French colonies. He was parachute
d into Tunisia
in 1943 to serve as a German Abwehr
agent, but captured and sentenced to life in prison.
(FLN), which begun an armed nationalist revolt
against France in November 1954. Unlike most of the FLN leadership, he had no previous involvement with the Algerian nationalist groups, such as the Parti du Peuple Algérien (PPA) of Messali Hadj
or the UDMA
of Ferhat Abbas
, or even with the religious Ulama
movement of shaykh Ben Badis. In 1956, Saïd Mohammedi was made colonel
of the Armée de Libération Nationale
(ALN) and became head of Wilaya III, an important FLN combat region comprising his native Kabylie
. His nom de guerre was Si Nacer, and he famously insisted on wearing an old German military helmet
as his personal trademark
.
Closely allied to Krim Belkacem, he was in 1958 designated chief of staff
for the ALN. However, he proved unable to assume control on the field, facing resistance from, among others, ALN strongman col. Houari Boumédiène
. He lost his military positions in 1960, as Krim's fortunes declined, and had to make do with mainly symbolic posts in the GPRA
government-in-exile.
, Mohamed Khider
, Boumédiène and others attempted to seize power, as did a rival GPRA
-centered group headed by Krim Belkacem, Benyoucef Benkhedda
, and others. Mohammedi initially stood with Krim's group, but then switched sides and was rewarded with a post as vice president after Ben Bella had been installed as president of Algeria
in a single-party system. In 1965, Boumédiène overthrew Ben Bella. Mohammedi acquised, and was carried on into the Revolutionary Command Council set up by Boumédiène in place of the government and parliament, but soon thereafter, he was outmaneouvered by Boumédiène and his Oujda group
and lost his posts.
In 1991, Mohammedi stood as electoral candidate for the Front Islamique du Salut (FIS), an anti-FLN Islamist group, in Algiers
, but as elections were cancelled by a military coup in 1992, the FIS was banned. He died two years later.
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
n nationalist and politician.
Born in the Berber
Berber people
Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...
Kabyle
Kabyle people
The Kabyle people are the largest homogeneous Algerian ethno-cultural and linguistical community and the largest nation in North Africa to be considered exclusively Berber. Their traditional homeland is Kabylie in the north of Algeria, one hundred miles east of Algiers...
region of Tizi Ouzou
Tizi Ouzou
Tizi Ouzou is a city in Kabylia, Algeria, where it ranks second in population after Béjaïa. It is the capital and largest city of Tizi Ouzou Province and of Great Kabylia .-Etymology:The name comes from the Kabylian Berber Tizi n Uzezzu and is pronounced Tizuzzu, commonly...
, Saïd Mohammadi served in the French army. Attracted to Arab nationalism
Arab nationalism
Arab nationalism is a nationalist ideology celebrating the glories of Arab civilization, the language and literature of the Arabs, calling for rejuvenation and political union in the Arab world...
, and intensely religious
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, he became involved with the Mufti
Mufti
A mufti is a Sunni Islamic scholar who is an interpreter or expounder of Islamic law . In religious administrative terms, a mufti is roughly equivalent to a deacon to a Sunni population...
of Jerusalem, Hajj
Hajj
The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...
Amin al-Husseini. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he joined the Mufti to work with the German Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
, hoping that Hitler's defeat of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
would lead to the liberation of Algeria and other French colonies. He was parachute
Parachute
A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag, or in the case of ram-air parachutes, aerodynamic lift. Parachutes are usually made out of light, strong cloth, originally silk, now most commonly nylon...
d into Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
in 1943 to serve as a German Abwehr
Abwehr
The Abwehr was a German military intelligence organisation from 1921 to 1944. The term Abwehr was used as a concession to Allied demands that Germany's post-World War I intelligence activities be for "defensive" purposes only...
agent, but captured and sentenced to life in prison.
In the FLN
He was liberated in 1952, and two years later, he joined the Front de libération nationaleFront de Libération Nationale
Front de Libération Nationale may refer to:* National Liberation Front , a socialist political party founded in 1954 for independence from France for Algeria...
(FLN), which begun an armed nationalist revolt
Algerian War of Independence
The Algerian War was a conflict between France and Algerian independence movements from 1954 to 1962, which led to Algeria's gaining its independence from France...
against France in November 1954. Unlike most of the FLN leadership, he had no previous involvement with the Algerian nationalist groups, such as the Parti du Peuple Algérien (PPA) of Messali Hadj
Messali Hadj
Ahmed Ben Messali Hadj was an Algerian nationalist politician dedicated to the independence of his homeland from France...
or the UDMA
UDMA
For the main article about the controller, see Parallel ATAThe Ultra DMA interface was the fastest method used to transfer data between the computer and an ATA device until Serial ATA....
of Ferhat Abbas
Ferhat Abbas
Ferhat Abbas Kabyle: Ferḥat Σabbas, was an Algerian political leader and briefly acted in a provisional capacity as the yet-to-become independent country's President from 1958 to 1961.- Background :...
, or even with the religious Ulama
Ulama
-In Islam:* Ulema, also transliterated "ulama", a community of legal scholars of Islam and its laws . See:**Nahdlatul Ulama **Darul-uloom Nadwatul Ulama **Jamiatul Ulama Transvaal**Jamiat ul-Ulama -Other:...
movement of shaykh Ben Badis. In 1956, Saïd Mohammedi was made colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
of the Armée de Libération Nationale
Armée de Libération Nationale
The Armée de Libération Nationale or ALN was the armed wing of the nationalist Front de Libération National during the Algerian War of Independence...
(ALN) and became head of Wilaya III, an important FLN combat region comprising his native Kabylie
Kabylie
Kabylie or Kabylia , is a region in the north of Algeria.It is part of the Tell Atlas and is located at the edge of the Mediterranean Sea. Kabylia covers several provinces of Algeria: the whole of Tizi Ouzou and Bejaia , most of Bouira and parts of the wilayas of Bordj Bou Arreridj, Jijel,...
. His nom de guerre was Si Nacer, and he famously insisted on wearing an old German military helmet
Helmet
A helmet is a form of protective gear worn on the head to protect it from injuries.Ceremonial or symbolic helmets without protective function are sometimes used. The oldest known use of helmets was by Assyrian soldiers in 900BC, who wore thick leather or bronze helmets to protect the head from...
as his personal trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
.
Closely allied to Krim Belkacem, he was in 1958 designated chief of staff
Chief of Staff
The title, chief of staff, identifies the leader of a complex organization, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a Principal Staff Officer , who is the coordinator of the supporting staff or a primary aide to an important individual, such as a president.In general, a chief of...
for the ALN. However, he proved unable to assume control on the field, facing resistance from, among others, ALN strongman col. Houari Boumédiène
Houari Boumediene
Houari Boumedienne served as Algeria's Chairman of the Revolutionary Council from 19 June 1965 until 12 December 1976, and from then on as the fourth President of Algeria to his death on 27 December 1978.- Background :Mohamed Ben Brahim Boukharouba was born near Héliopolis in the province of...
. He lost his military positions in 1960, as Krim's fortunes declined, and had to make do with mainly symbolic posts in the GPRA
GPRA
GPRA may refer to:*Government Performance and Results Act*Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic...
government-in-exile.
Post-independence career
After independence, an army-based coalition composed of Ahmed Ben BellaAhmed Ben Bella
Mohamed Ahmed Ben Bella was a soldier and Algerian revolutionary, who became the first President of Algeria.-Youth:...
, Mohamed Khider
Mohamed Khider
Mohamed Khider was an Algerian politician.-War years and imprisonment:Mohamed Khider was one of the original leaders of the Front de Libération nationale , having been previously active in its nationalist predecessors, the Étoile Nord-Africaine and Parti du Peuple Algerien of Messali Hadj...
, Boumédiène and others attempted to seize power, as did a rival GPRA
GPRA
GPRA may refer to:*Government Performance and Results Act*Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic...
-centered group headed by Krim Belkacem, Benyoucef Benkhedda
Benyoucef Benkhedda
Benyoucef Benkhedda was an Algerian politician. He headed the third GPRA exile government of the National Liberation Front , acting as a leader during the Algerian War...
, and others. Mohammedi initially stood with Krim's group, but then switched sides and was rewarded with a post as vice president after Ben Bella had been installed as president of Algeria
President of Algeria
The President of Algeria is the head of state and chief executive of Algeria, as well as the Commander-in-Chief of the Algerian armed forces.-History of the office:...
in a single-party system. In 1965, Boumédiène overthrew Ben Bella. Mohammedi acquised, and was carried on into the Revolutionary Command Council set up by Boumédiène in place of the government and parliament, but soon thereafter, he was outmaneouvered by Boumédiène and his Oujda group
Oujda Group
The Oujda group or Oujda clan was a gathering of military officers and politicians in Algeria, during its War of Independence and until approximately the 1970s....
and lost his posts.
In 1991, Mohammedi stood as electoral candidate for the Front Islamique du Salut (FIS), an anti-FLN Islamist group, in Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
, but as elections were cancelled by a military coup in 1992, the FIS was banned. He died two years later.