Belaid Abdessalam (born July 1928 in Aïn El Kebira

Ain El Kebira

Aïn El Kebira is a city located 27 km north far from Sétif. Ain El Kebira is classed as daira in the Algerian regional classification. The place was called "Satafis" during the time of Roman occupation...

) is an Algerian politician. He was a nationalist leader in the FLN

National Liberation Front (Algeria)

The National Liberation Front 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.- Anticolonial struggle :...

 during Algeria's struggle for independence

Independence

Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state in which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory....

 from France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. He was minister of industry

Industry

Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...

 and power under the military

Military

A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...

 regime of Houari Boumedienne, and his name is closely connected with the former Algerian state policy of building a base of heavy industry

Heavy industry

Heavy industry does not have a single fixed meaning as compared to light industry. It can mean production of products which are either heavy in weight or in the processes leading to their production. In general, it is a popular term used within the name of many Japanese and Korean firms, meaning...

 through planned economy

Planned economy

A planned economy is an economic system in which decisions regarding production and investment are embodied in a plan formulated by a central authority, usually by a government agency...

.

Abdessalam served as Prime Minister of Algeria

Prime Minister of Algeria

The Prime Minister is the head of government of Algeria.The Prime Minister is appointed by the President of Algeria, along with other ministers and members of the government that the new Prime Minister recommends. The People's National Assembly must approve the legislative program of the new...

 from July 8, 1992 until August 21, 1993. During his tenure, the Algerian government intensified its conflicts with Islamist rebels, and because of this he eventually resigned.