In the weeks after Algerian independence on July 5, 1962, a power struggle inside the FLN pitted the Provisional Government (GPRA) under Benyoucef Ben Khedda, installed in Algiers, against the Political Bureau proclaimed by Ahmed Ben Bella from Tlemcen with the backing of the frontier army of Colonel Houari Boumediene, whom the GPRA had tried and failed to dismiss. Fighting between wilaya commanders loyal to each side broke out in late July. The struggle was not fully settled until Boumediene's forces entered Algiers in September against resistance from wilayas III and IV, with mass civilian demonstrations against the fratricidal fighting; Ben Bella then consolidated power, becoming prime minister when the National Assembly convened on September 25 and 26, 1962, and the GPRA was dissolved.
Researched Details
Researched
Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.
Target identified in Coup Atlas research: The Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic under President Benyoucef Ben Khedda was displaced by Ben Bella's Political Bureau and later dissolved; Ben Khedda yielded and was not physically harmed.
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Ahmed Ben Bella (Political Bureau leader, later prime minister and president)
Benyoucef Ben Khedda (GPRA president, displaced)
Houari Boumediene (frontier army chief of staff whose forces backed Ben Bella)
Mohamed Khider (co-founder of the Political Bureau)
Ferhat Abbas (former GPRA president who joined the Ben Bella camp)
Sources
In late 1962 the GPRA was disbanded after Ahmed Ben Bella seized power through forming a rival institution, a Political Bureau of the FLN, with the backing of the National Liberation Army controlled by Colonel Houari Boumediene; an attempt by GPRA politicians and loyal guerrilla units to resist the military backed takeover was crushed in a short but intense burst of internal fighting.
SOURCE REVIEWEDWikipedia, Provisional Government of the Algerian Republicopen source ↗
The GPRA had tried to break its opponents' coalition by dismissing top ALN officers including Boumediene, which created the alliance between the General Staff and Ben Bella; Ben Bella entered Algeria on July 11 and set up headquarters at Tlemcen, fighting broke out near Constantine on July 25, and on July 28 Ben Khedda announced the GPRA agreed to accept the composition of the Political Bureau.
SOURCE REVIEWEDMilitary History wiki, 1962 Algerian crisis (mirroring the Wikipedia article of that title)open source ↗
After independence Ben Bella challenged the leadership of Premier Ben Khedda in a dispute suppressed by Ben Bella's growing support, most notably within the armed forces; one account dates his seizure of power to a coup on 4 August, and by September, with Boumediene's troops having marched on Algiers, Ben Bella controlled Algeria in all but name.
SOURCE REVIEWEDWikipedia, Ahmed Ben Bellaopen source ↗
Boumediene formed an alliance with Ben Bella, who with Mohamed Khider and Rabah Bitat announced the Political Bureau as a rival government to the GPRA installed in Algiers; Boumediene's forces entered Algiers in September, Ben Bella consolidated power, and when the National Assembly convened on September 25, 1962 Ben Bella was named prime minister with Boumediene as defense minister.
SOURCE REVIEWEDWikipedia, History of Algeria (1962-1999)open source ↗
Editorial Note
Date caution: sources spread the Political Bureau's displacement of the GPRA across the summer rather than fixing a single day; the Ben Bella article dates his seizure of power to August 4, the Bureau established authority in Algiers in early August, and the dataset codes August 8. The takeover's military resolution came only in early September, when unarmed civilian crowds famously intervened against the fratricidal fighting. The deposed executive is the GPRA presidency of Ben Khedda, matching the dataset's palace coup label for an intra movement displacement rather than an army against government strike.
Cross-Reference
Only one dataset carries it. One of the three reference datasets we check against carries this event; the others do not list it. That is not a contradiction — the datasets cover different periods and use different thresholds — but it means the record has had less outside corroboration.
Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: The Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic under President Benyoucef Ben Khedda was displaced by Ben Bella's Political Bureau and later dissolved; Ben Khedda yielded and was not physically harmed..
Baseline coding: Incumbent executive removed from power. Recorded leader fate: deposed; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.
Baseline Dataset Citation
Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset, v2.2.2
Peyton, Buddy, Joseph Bajjalieh, Michael Martin, and Andrea Gerald. 2026. Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset. Cline Center for Advanced Social Research. V.2.2.2. February 17. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. doi: 10.13012/B2IDB-9651987_V10
“Algerian regime Yields Power to Ben Bella Unit,” by Henry Tanner, August 8, 1962
This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →