*OPEC mourns with Algeria
Algeria’s longest-serving president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who resigned in 2019 amid pro-democracy protests after two decades in power, has died aged 84.
The state television announcement on Friday, citing a statement from the office of the current president, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, did not provide the cause of death.
A three-day period of mourning starting on Saturday has been declared for the former president. Flags were to fly at half-mast during the mourning period, the president’s office said.
Bouteflika, a veteran of Algeria’s war for independence, resigned in April 2019 amid outcry over his plan to seek a fifth term. He had rarely been seen in public since a stroke in 2013.
Bouteflika was born on 2 March 1937, to Algerian parents in the border town of Oujda, Morocco. In 1956, he joined the National Liberation Army in the war against French rule. After Algeria’s independence in 1962, Bouteflika became the country’s first foreign minister at just 25.
He kept that post for 16 years, defining the country as a leader of the Third World and the Non-Aligned Movement and presiding over the UN general assembly in 1974.
Bouteflika successfully negotiated with the terrorist Carlos the Jackal to free oil ministers taken hostage in a 1975 attack on Opec headquarters and invited the former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to address the UN general assembly in 1974.
In a letter of condolence issued by OPEC, singed by the Secretary General, HE Dr. Mohammad S. Barkindo, “It is with a heavy heart that I received the very sad news of the passing of former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who will be long remembered for his dedication to our Organization and his decisive support for the Declaration of Cooperation (DoC). Over the course of his 20 years in the presidency, President Bouteflika was a gracious and generous host to many meetings of the OPEC Conference and leading industry events. But he earned a special place in the history books for his skilled diplomacy and crucial backing of the discussions by OPEC and leading nonOPEC oil-producing nations in 2016 that would bring about the DoC. The 170th (Extraordinary) Meeting of the OPEC Conference, which took place in Algiers five years ago, established a High-Level Committee to develop a framework for consultations between OPEC and non-OPEC oilproducing countries, including taking proactive measures that would ensure a balanced oil market on a sustainable basis. This key outcome, on 28 September 2016, was the initial step in the series of events that would lead to signing of the landmark DoC framework on 10 December 2016 in Vienna. On many succeeding occasions, both the OPEC and non-OPEC participating countries paid special tribute to President Bouteflika for his influential role in the establishment of the DoC. Though the visionary leaders at the time could not foresee a challenge as monumental as the COVID-19 pandemic, I believe a large part of the oil market stabilization we have seen over the past 18 months can be attributed to the historic actions undertaken by the countries in the DoC. Together, we have averted a far deeper market crisis, helped restore order to the market, and have provided a platform for recovery. We would not be where we are today were it not for the key decisions taken in Algiers in September 2016 that helped pave the way for this historic level of cooperation by OPEC and non-OPEC oil-producing countries.
“In addition to his dedication to OPEC and the DoC, Abdelaziz Bouteflika was a hero of the war for independence and went on to become a long-serving diplomat, as Foreign Minister in his newly independent country and President of the 29th UN General Assembly in 1974. Among his many diplomatic accomplishments, Abdelaziz Bouteflika was a tireless supporter of non-aligned nations and ensured they had a powerful voice on the global stage. He will also be remembered as a pan-Africanist who was instrumental, along with the Presidents of Nigeria and South Africa, in establishing the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) in 2001. In the years that followed, President Bouteflika continued to support and promote NEPAD’s role within the African Union as a strategic framework to promote socio-economic development, opportunity and cooperation across the African continent. Excellency, in recalling these achievements, we must never forget the legacy of those visionaries who were instrumental in bringing them about. Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who devoted his life to public service, global diplomacy and ultimately the Presidency of Algeria, will be among those we shall remember and revere. On behalf of OPEC, I would also like to convey my sincerest sympathies to you, Excellency, and to the people of the Republic of Algeria, at this time of monumental grief. Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration and respect.”