Next Thursday, Algeria’s Deputy Minister for African and Maghreb Affairs, Abdelkader Messahel, will be coming to Casa Árabe to give a conference in which he will discuss security challenges within the context of the region.

This conference will take place within the framework of his visit to Madrid, during which he will hold meetings with various representatives of the government.

Abdelkader Messahel was born on July 11, 1949 in Tlemcen. He began his career as a journalist before joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1971. In the year of 2000, he was named Delegate Minister of African Affairs, though it was not until the year 2012 that he also took over Maghreb Region Affairs.

For a brief time period (from October 2013 to May 2014), he was the Minister of Communication, until returning to his current position.

Political, parliamentary and ministerial positions held:

•    1971: Head of the “Liberation Movements” section at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
•    1986-1988 and 1996-1997: Director General for Africa.
•    1990-1994: Ambassador in Burkina Faso.
•    Ambassador on a Special Mission for African Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
•    Minister advising the person responsible for African Affairs in Algeria’s UN Mission.
•    1997-1999: Ambassador to the Netherlands.
•    1999-2000: Special envoy of the President of the Republic for following up on the peace process in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in the Great Lakes region, during the Algerian presidency of the African Union. During this period, he also took part in the mediation between Ethiopia and Eritrea, which led to the Algiers Peace Agreement on December 12, 2000 to put an end to hostilities.
•    2001: Delegate Minister in charge of African Affairs.
•    2012: Delegate Minister in charge of African and Maghreb Region Affairs.
•    2013 : Minister of Communication.
•    May 2014: Delegate Minister in charge of African and Maghreb Region Affairs.

Through his current position, he is responsible for the Western Sahara dossier.