Algeria's president-elect Abdelaziz Bouteflika

Abdelaziz Bouteflika was endorsed for a fourth term as president of Algeria after winning more than 80 percent of Thursday's presidential polls. The following is a brief introduction to the president-elect. Abdelaziz Bouteflika was born on March 2, 1937 in Oujda, Morocco, where his parents settled down after moving from Tlemcen region in western Algeria. In 1956 Bouteflika returned to Tlemcen to join the Army of National Liberation, a military branch of the National Liberation Front, to partake in the war of liberation against the French colonial forces. After Algeria won independence from France in 1962, Bouteflika became deputy of Tlemcen in the Constituent Assembly and Minister for Youth and Sport in the government led by late president Ahmed Ben Bella. The following year, he was appointed as foreign minister. After the coup orchestrated by Houari Boumedien against Ben Bella on June 19, 1965, Bouteflika was maintained as foreign minister until the death of President Boumedien in 1978. After a long absence, Bouteflika returned to Algeria to run for president in 1999 as an independent candidate. He was elected as Algeria's new president replacing Liamine Zeroual. In his campaign Bouteflika promised Algerian voters to bring back peace to this North African nation after a decade of war between extremist militants and security forces that claimed thousands of lives. He initiated an amnesty for militants who lay down arms and did not committed crimes, promising fair trials for those who killed civilians and security forces. This initiative was called "the national concord" which then became a national reconciliation. Peace was restored gradually in different parts of the country, as the majority of militants decided to lay down arms and return to the society. Such an achievement granted Bouteflika a second term with an absolute majority in 2004. In 2009 Bouteflika decided to amend the constitution to enable him to run for a third term. Economically Bouteflika initiated a series of five-year development programs in infrastructure and employment. He also decided to build more house units to ease the housing crisis. Bouteflika was also active on the international scene, presiding over what many have characterized as Algeria's return to international affairs after almost a decade of international isolation. Bouteflika suffered a minor stroke last year and was rushed to a military hospital in France. After three months of treatment he returned home, but has since made rare public appearances. In March 2014 the ailing president decided to run for a fourth term, which sparked a controversy in this oil-rich country. The major opposition parties called for him to renounce and leave power to young generation. Bouteflika has surpassed late Houari Boumedien as Algeria's longest-serving president.