Liamine Zeroual was born on July 3, 1941, in Batna. He joined the National Liberation Army at the age of 16, participating in the liberation revolution starting in 1957, before being sent to the Military College in Baghdad, Iraq. The late president also received military training in the Soviet Union and later at the French War School in 1974.
He held several responsibilities within the People’s National Army, serving as the commander of the military school in Batna and the Inter-Arms Military Academy in Cherchell. He also commanded the Sixth, Third, and Fifth Military Regions, and was later appointed Commander of the Land Forces at the General Staff of the People’s National Army.
Zeroual served as Minister of National Defense on July 10, 1993, during the tenure of the High Council of State. He was appointed Head of State and Minister of National Defense on January 31, 1994, by the High Security Council, and was subsequently elected President of Algeria on November 16, 1995.
Liamine Zeroual led the process of consolidating constitutional legitimacy through the referendum on the Constitution of November 28, 1996, which established the upper house of parliament, the Council of the Nation. He completed the institutional framework through the legislative elections of June 5, 1997, and the local elections of October 23, 1997. On September 11, 1998, Zeroual announced early presidential elections, and his term concluded on April 27, 1999.
