Less than three months into his appointment, the prime minister of Algeria has been replaced by a veteran of the post. President Abdel Aziz Bouteflika removed Prime Minister Abdelmadjid Tebboune from office on Aug. 15 after Tebboune returned from a two-week trip abroad. He was fired less than three months after his appointment on May 25, following legislative elections earlier in the month. In his place, Bouteflika inserted Ahmed Ouyahia. Algeria's political system is currently in a frenzy over two important issues: the country's economic structure and life after Bouteflika. Tebboune and Ouyahia have a role to play in both.
Tebboune's predecessor, longtime Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal, was removed from office after legislative elections in May. This signaled Sellal's defeat in the jockeying for power and influence among himself, Ouyahia and others. When Tebboune was named prime minister, he was seen as a pliant figure who would not challenge Ouyahia or other possible successors to Bouteflika. However, he still sought to disentangle the crisscrossing network of business interests and politics that have come to characterize the Algerian political landscape. On July 2, he reportedly signed an order that called for all his ministers to examine contracts signed late in the term of Sellal. This action, in part, kicked off a feud between Tebboune and Ali Haddad, a wealthy businessman who controls the giant ETRHB Haddad construction company. Haddad's businesses won a number of government contracts while Sellal was in office, and Haddad is close to the pro-liberalization and pro-business wings of the Algerian political system. In response, Haddad moved quickly to complain about what he called a hostile campaign against him.
As a result, Bouteflika and his brother, Said Bouteflika, increased pressure on Tebboune. The president criticized Tebboune's actions against Haddad, which ultimately resulted in Tebboune's removal. His replacement, Ouyahia, has long been an important figure in the Algerian political system, and his return to the position of prime minister — a position he has held three times — completes his political comeback ahead of elections in 2019.
