| President of Council of the Nation | |
|---|---|
| رئيس مجلس الأمة | |
 | |
| Council of the Nation | |
| Style | Mister President of the Council |
| Formation | 1997 |
| First holder | Bachir Boumaza |
| Website | majliselouma.dz |
The President of the Council of the Nation of Algeria is the presiding officer of that body. From the creation of the Council of the Nation in 1997, it is the upper house of the Parliament of Algeria.
| Name | Portrait | Took office | Left office | Political party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Bachir Boumaza | 1997 | 2 July 2002 | National Liberation Front |
| 2 |  | Abdelkader Bensalah | 2 July 2002 | 9 April 2019 | National Rally for Democracy |
| - |  | Salah Goudjil | 9 April 2019 | 24 February 2021 | National Liberation Front |
| 3 | 24 February 2021 | Incumbent | |||
Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in North Africa. Algeria is bordered to the northeast by Tunisia; to the east by Libya; to the southeast by Niger; to the southwest by Mali, Mauritania, and Western Sahara; to the west by Morocco; and to the north by the Mediterranean Sea. It is considered part of the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has a semi-arid geography, with most of the population living in the fertile north and the Sahara dominating the geography of the south. Algeria covers an area of 2,381,741 square kilometres (919,595 sq mi), making it the world's tenth largest nation by area, and the largest nation in Africa, more than 200 times as large as the continent's smallest country, The Gambia. With a population of 44 million, Algeria is the tenth-most populous country in Africa, and the 32nd-most populous country in the world. The capital and largest city is Algiers, located in the far north on the Mediterranean coast.
Western Sahara is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa. Western Sahara is the last African colonial state yet to achieve its independence. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR); the remaining 80% of the territory is occupied and administered by neighboring Morocco. It has a surface area of 266,000 square kilometres (103,000 sq mi). It is the second most sparsely populated country in the world and the most sparsely populated in Africa, mainly consisting of desert flatlands. The population is estimated at just over 500,000, of which nearly 40% live in Laayoune, the largest city in Western Sahara.
Politics of Algeria takes place in a framework of a constitutional semi-presidential republic, whereby the President of Algeria is head of state while the Prime Minister of Algeria is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament, the People's National Assembly and the Council of the Nation.
The president of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria is the head of state and chief executive of Algeria, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Algerian People's National Armed Forces.
Houari Boumédiène was an Algerian military officer and politician who served as Chairman of the Revolutionary Council of Algeria from 19 June 1965 until 12 December 1976 and thereafter as the second president of Algeria until his death in 1978.
Ali Kafi was an Algerian politician who was Chairman of the High Council of State and acting President from 1992 to 1994.
Lakhdar Brahimi is an Algerian United Nations diplomat who served as the United Nations and Arab League Special Envoy to Syria until 14 May 2014. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs of Algeria from 1991 to 1993. He served as chairman of the United Nations Panel on United Nations Peace Operations in 2000. Its highly influential report "Report of the Panel on United Nations Peacekeeping" is known as "The Brahimi Report".
Algeria elects on the national level a head of state – the president – and a legislature. The president is elected for a five-year term by the people. People's National Assembly has 407 members, elected for a five-year term in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation. Eight seats in the national assembly are reserved for Algerians abroad. The Council of the Nation has 144 members, 96 members elected by communal councils and 48 members appointed by the president. Algeria has a multi-party system, with numerous political parties in which no one party often has a chance of gaining power alone, and parties must work with each other to form coalition governments. According to a US Embassy cable, the 2009 presidential elections were "carefully choreographed and heavily controlled", with the official turnout figure "exaggerated" by at least 45%.
The Algeria national football team represents Algeria in men's international football, and is governed by the Algerian Football Federation. The team plays their home matches at the 5 July Stadium in Algiers and Miloud Hadefi Stadium in Oran. Algeria joined FIFA on 1 January 1964, a year and a half after gaining independence. They are the current champions of the FIFA Arab Cup.
The People's National Assembly, abbreviated APN, is the lower house of the Algerian Parliament. It is composed of 407 members directly elected by the population. Of the 407 seats, 8 are reserved for Algerians living abroad. Members of the People's National Assembly are directly elected through proportional representation in multiple-member districts and serve terms lasting five years at a time. The last election for this body was held on 12 June 2021. The minimum age for election to the Assembly is 28.
The Parliament of Algeria consists of two chambers:
The Council of the Nation is the upper house of the Algerian Parliament. It is composed of 144 members, 2/3 of which are elected indirectly and 1/3 of which are appointed by the president of Algeria.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1593, adopted on 31 March 2005, after receiving a report by the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur, the Council referred the situation in the Darfur region of Sudan to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and required Sudan to co-operate fully. It marked the first time the council had referred a situation to the court, and also compelled a country to co-operate with it.
The 2007 Algiers bombings occurred on 11 April 2007 when two suicide car bombs exploded in the Algerian capital Algiers.
There were two near simultaneous bombings in Algiers which occurred on 11 December 2007 when two car bombs exploded 10 minutes apart starting at around 9:30 a.m. local time, in the Algerian capital, Algiers. The al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb has claimed responsibility for the attacks, stating that it was "another successful conquest [...] carried out by the Knights of the Faith with their blood in defense of the wounded nation of Islam." These attacks constitute another act of violence in the ongoing Islamic insurgency, a continuation of the Algerian Civil War that has claimed 200,000 lives.
The 2003 United Nations Security Council election was held on 23 October 2003 at United Nations Headquarters in New York City during the 58th session of the United Nations General Assembly. The General Assembly elected five non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for two-year terms commencing on 1 January 2004.
Mexico–Sahrawi Republic relations are the current and historical relations between Mexico and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). Mexico recognized the SADR on 8 September 1979.
The alliance between Algeria and Palestine is strong and enduring. Algeria is a supporter of the Middle East peace process and it has no diplomatic relations with Israel.
The political relations between Algeria and South Africa officially started in the 1950s and 1960s. The bond formed around their respective internal conflicts that were repeatedly neglected by the United Nations Security Council.
Abdelkader Bensalah was an Algerian politician. He served as the President of the Council of the Nation, the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Algeria, between 2002 and 2019.