The National Liberation Front (French: Front de libération nationale, Arabic: Jabhah al-Taḩrīr al-Waţanī) is a socialist political party in Algeria. It was set up on November 1, 1954 as a merger of other smaller groups, to obtain independence for Algeria from France.

The party was a continuation of the revolutionary body that directed the war for independence against France. The National Liberation Front was created by the Revolutionary Committee of Unity and Action. This Committee urged all the warring factions of the nationalist movement to unite and fight against France. By 1956 nearly all the nationalist organizations in Algeria had joined the National Liberation Front. At this time the National Liberation Front reorganized into something like a provisional government. It consisted of a five-man executive and legislative body.

The war for independence continued until March of 1962 when finally, the French government signed a cease-fire agreement with the National Liberation Front. In July of that same year the Algerian people voted for a referendum that approved the cease-fire agreement with France and supported economic and social cooperation between the two countries as well.

After independence, the party experienced an internal power stuggle. To counter this the Political Bureau was established by Ahmed Ben Bella, Colonel Houari Boumedienne, and Muhammad Khidr . Ahmed Ben Bella became the Premier in 1963 but was overthrown by Colonel Boumedienne in 1965. The Colonel held tight control over the party leadership until his death in 1978, at which time the party reorganized into its present incarnation.

The National Liberation Front held the position of being the sole legal party in Algeria until the late 1980s, when the Algerian constitution was finally amended to allow a multiparty system.

The party received 34.3% of the parliamentary vote in the latest elections of 2002 and has 199 members in parliament. The National Liberation Front is currently led by General Secretary and Algerian Prime Minister Ali Benflis. He won 6.4 % of the vote at the presidential elections of 8 april 2004

External link

• Official web site