Abbas, Ferhat (1899–1985)

Algerian nationalist leader and politician. He was the first president of the exile-based Gouvernement Provisoire de la République Algérienne (GPRA) 1958–61, and was elected president of the national assembly after independence.

French-educated, Abbas had been until the outbreak of the war in 1954 a fervent advocate of assimilation and federation with France. However, in 1955 he joined the Front de Libération Nationale (FLN), which was the main resistance organization. His political career ended one year after independence because of his disagreement with what he viewed as the consolidation of a one-man regime. Placed under house arrest then released, he went into exile and wrote his last book, L'indépendance confisquée/The Confiscation of Independence, in which he denounced the usurpation of power.