Sid Ahmed Ghozali (born March 31, 1937 in Maghnia

Maghnia

Maghnia is a town in Tlemcen Province, northwestern Algeria, near the border with Morocco. It is known for the Treaty of Lalla Maghnia between France and Abderrahman, Sultan of Morocco, which established the boundaries between Algeria and Morocco...

, Algeria

Algeria

Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...

) is an Algerian politician. He was a member of the National Liberation Front

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 :...

 party and an ally of former President Houari Boumedienne, under whom he served as head of Sonatrach

Sonatrach

Sonatrach is an Algerian government-owned company formed to exploit the hydrocarbon resources of the country. Its diversified activities cover all aspects of production: exploration, extraction, transport, and refining...

 from 1966 to 1977, when he became Minister of Energy and Industry. He was removed from this post by the new president Chadli Bendjedid

Chadli Bendjedid

Chadli Bendjedid was the sixth President of Algeria from February 9, 1979 to January 11, 1992.-Early career:...

 in 1979, becoming ambassador

Ambassador

An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....

 to France, but was brought back in 1988 as finance minister

Finance minister

The finance minister is a cabinet position in a government.A minister of finance has many different jobs in a government. He or she helps form the government budget, stimulate the economy, and control finances...

 until 1989, then foreign minister

Foreign minister

A Minister of Foreign Affairs, or foreign minister, is a cabinet minister who helps form the foreign policy of a sovereign state. The foreign minister is often regarded as the most senior ministerial position below that of the head of government . It is often granted to the deputy prime minister in...

 until 1991. On June 5, 1991, he succeeded Mouloud Hamrouche

Mouloud Hamrouche

Mouloud Hamrouche was the Prime Minister of Algeria from September 5, 1989 to June 5, 1991. He was born in Constantine, Algeria. He was a leading member of the FLN. However, after serving as prime minister of Algeria he became involved in serious disputes with other party leaders who he said were...

 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...

; he remained Prime Minister following the January 1992 resignation of Bendjedid and takeover by the military, but he resigned on July 8 of that year, shortly after the assassination of Mohammed Boudiaf. He ran for president in the 1999 elections, and attempted to do so again in 2004

Algerian presidential election, 2004

Presidential elections were held in Algeria on April 8, 2004. The incumbent president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, was re-elected with 85.0 percent of the vote.-Candidates:*Ali Benflis: candidate of the Front for National Liberation...

, but was disqualified by the Constitutional Council.