Algeria announced on Thursday the break with Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra, on a background of discord with President ‘Abdelmadjid Tebboune. He is replaced by Ahmed Attaf, a former head of Algerian diplomacy in the 90s.
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune had long sought to separate from Ramtane Lamamra despite his skills, his address book and a passage through the ministry from 2013 to 2017.
According to Algerian sources, the veteran diplomat imposed by the military was overshadowing the president who fears that he will run for president in 2014. Views on Algeria’s foreign policy between the two men were divergent , particularly on the issue of severing diplomatic relations with Morocco, a decision that did not please Lamamra.
The new head of Algeria’s diplomacy, Ahmed Attaf, is not new to this position, either, he was foreign minister under Abdelaziz Bouteflika for 3 years from 1996 to 1999.