Mohamed Mediène
| Mohamed Mediène | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Mohammed Medien |
| Born |
14 May 1939 Guenzet, Algeria |
| Allegiance |
 Algeria
|
| Service/branch | Algerian People's Army |
| Years of service | 1960 - 2014 |
| Rank | Général de corps d'armée |
General Mohamed Mediène (Arabic: الجنرال محمد مدين), also known as Toufik (توفيق), was head of the Algerian secret services, the Intelligence and Security Department (Département du renseignement et de la sécurité, DRS), from 1990 to 2015. He was described as the world's longest serving "intelligence chief".
He was born in 1939 to a Kabyle family from Guenzet (Sétif Province), but grew up near Algiers at Saint-Eugene (Bologhine). He joined the National Liberation Army in 1961, a few months before Algeria's independence. He was an officer for the NLA.
Little is known of him, but he was regarded as a leading power behind the scenes and a leading general in the "eradicator" military faction. Only two known public photos of him exist; they are both unclear.
Shortly after independence, he joined other NLA military members in studying at a KGB school in the Soviet Union. He was then posted to the 2nd military region (around Oran, bordering Morocco), then commanded by future President Chadli Bendjedid, where he established ties with Larbi Belkheir. In 1983, he was posted to Tripoli (Libya) as military attaché. Soon after returning, he became head of presidential security for Bendjedid.
He later became head of army security in the Sécurité Militaire, led at the time by Mohamed Betchine. After Betchine's departure in 1987, Mediene was appointed general and a temporary chief of the intelligence organization. Soon after taking charge, he oversaw a reorganization of the Sécurité Militaire, and renamed it the Département du renseignement et de la sécurité (DRS).
...
Wikipedia