Abbas, Ferhat (1899-1985), served as president of Algeria’s first elected legislature. He previously had helped lead the Algerian revolt against French rule.
Abbas was born on Aug. 24, 1899, in Taher, Algeria, near Constantine. He was elected to the French Constituent Assembly in 1946. The war between the Algerian rebels and the French began in 1954. Abbas joined the revolt in 1956 after the French expanded the war. He headed the Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic in exile from 1958 to 1961.
Algeria became independent in 1962, and Abbas was elected president of its first legislature. He resigned in 1963 after Ahmed Ben Bella, who became Algeria’s president, began to take the powers of a dictator. Ben Bella imprisoned Abbas in 1964. Abbas was released in 1965, shortly before Houari Boumedienne overthrew Ben Bella. Abbas died on Dec. 25, 1985.
