Ali Kafi
A veteran of Algeria's war for independence who stepped into the presidency during the nation's violent and turbulent civil war in the 1990s.
1928–2013 (age 85)·Algerian politician·Birthday: October 7·The Silent Generation
Biography
Ali Kafi's life was inextricably linked to the birth and painful adolescence of modern Algeria. As a young man, he joined the National Liberation Front (FLN) in its fight against French colonial rule, becoming a commander in the historic war that won independence in 1962. For decades after, he served in diplomatic and veterans' affairs roles, a respected figure from the 'revolutionary generation.' His defining moment came in 1992, amid crisis. After the army canceled elections to prevent an Islamist victory, the presidency was vacant. Kafi was chosen to lead the High Council of State, a collective presidency tasked with steering the country through a bloody and complex civil war. His two-year tenure was defined by this brutal conflict, a period of immense national trauma where the state fought to survive against armed Islamist groups.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Ali was born in 1928, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Ali Was Born
The biggest hits of 1928
#1 Movie
The Singing Fool
Best Picture
Wings
Ali's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1928Born
Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin; Mickey Mouse debuts
President: Calvin Coolidge"Ol' Man River" — Paul WhitemanBest Picture: Wings
1933Started school
FDR's New Deal launches; Prohibition ends
Gas: $0.18/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Stormy Weather" — Ethel WatersBest Picture: Cavalcade
1941Became a teenager
Pearl Harbor attack brings the US into WWII
Gas: $0.19/galHome: $3,060Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Chattanooga Choo Choo" — Glenn MillerBest Picture: How Green Was My Valley
1944Could drive
D-Day: Allied forces land at Normandy
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $3,400Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Swinging on a Star" — Bing CrosbyBest Picture: Going My Way
1946Could vote
United Nations holds its first General Assembly
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $5,150Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Prisoner of Love" — Perry ComoBest Picture: The Best Years of Our Lives
1949Turned 21
NATO founded; Mao proclaims the People's Republic of China
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Riders in the Sky" — Vaughn MonroeBest Picture: All the King's Men
1958Turned 30
NASA founded
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Volare" — Domenico ModugnoBest Picture: Gigi
1968Turned 40
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1978Turned 50
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1988Turned 60
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1998Turned 70
Google founded; Clinton impeachment
Gas: $1.06/galHome: $107,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Too Close" — NextBest Picture: Shakespeare in Love
2008Turned 80
Barack Obama elected first Black US president; financial crisis
Gas: $3.27/galHome: $153,100Min wage: $6.55/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Low" — Flo RidaBest Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
2013Died at 85
Edward Snowden reveals NSA surveillance programs
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $152,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Thrift Shop" — Macklemore & Ryan LewisBest Picture: 12 Years a Slave
Key Achievements
- Served as the Chairman of the High Council of State and acting President of Algeria from 1992 until 1994.
- Was a founding member and a military commander in the FLN's Armée de Libération Nationale during the Algerian War.
- Served as Algeria's ambassador to several countries, including Syria and Egypt, in the decades following independence.
- Led the National Organization of Mujahideen (veterans of the war of independence) prior to his ascent to the presidency.
Did You Know?
He authored a memoir titled 'From Native Resistance to National Liberation Army: The Memoirs of a Moudjahid.'
Kafi was born in the city of El Harrouch, in the Skikda province of northeastern Algeria.
His presidency followed the assassination of President Mohamed Boudiaf, who was killed just months after taking office.
After leaving the presidency, he largely retreated from public political life.
“A free Algeria was born from the sacrifice of a million and a half martyrs.”
