El Mouradia Palace

El Mouradia Palace (Arabic: قصر المرادية, French: palais d'El Mouradia) is the office and residence of the president of Algeria. It is located in the neighborhood of El Mouradia on the hills overlooking Algiers. "El Mouradia" is also widely used as a shorthand for the Algerian president's office.

History

The first president of independent Algeria, Ahmed Ben Bella, set up his offices at the Summer Palace formerly used by French governors, but lived at Villa Joly. It was there that he was arrested during Houari Boumédiène's 1965 coup.

The latter, upon becoming president, did not want to settle in either the Government Palace, which was built by the French, nor the Summer Palace with its echoes of both the Ottoman and French eras; instead, he chose to install the presidency a little higher in the district of El Mouradia, which was named after the martyr Didouche Mourad. He had a palace built there in the Moorish Revival architecture style. The site also suited his preference for secrecy.[1][2]

Description

This palace is the official residence of the president of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria. It is located on the heights of Algiers, about 4 km south of the city centre.

The places have been occupied by several presidents, namely: Houari Boumédiène, Rabah Bitat, Chadli Bendjedid, Mohamed Boudiaf, Ali Kafi, Liamine Zéroual, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Abdelkader Bensalah (acting president), and since 2020, the current president Abdelmadjid Tebboune.

Security
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton preparing to meet the Algerian president in 2012.

The security of the palace is provided by the Directorate of Security and Presidential Protection and Republican Guard.

See also

Notes
  1. "III. - Une villa sur la colline". Le Monde.fr (in French). 4 Jul 1972. Retrieved 7 Feb 2022.
  2. De Pierre Vermeren (2015). Le Choc des décolonisations De la guerre d'Algérie aux printemps arabes. Odile Jacob. p. 9. ISBN 978-2-7381-6477-3.


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