Events Detail

H.E. AMINE KHERBI, Ambassador of Algeria to the United States
ZEYNO BARAN, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute

Following the success of the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) in the 1991 elections, Algeria outlawed the party in 1992—preventing an Islamist government from coming to power. Some declared this move to be mistake, arguing that the Algerian army unlawfully overturned the results of a democratic election. They also point out that the ensuing decade of politically-motivated violence has claimed over 150,000 lives.

Meanwhile, others argue that the military intervention saved Algeria from the threat of a dictatorially-minded fundamentalist government, and ensured the stable transformation of Algeria into a democracy. Algeria is one of the few Arab countries that holds regular elections; despite the regular boycotting efforts of the FIS and its allies, voter turnout regularly exceeds 75%.

On June 28, Center for Eurasian Policy hosted H.E. Amine Kherbi, Ambassador of Algeria to the United States, to discuss how best to promote democracy in the Middle East and the Algerian model.

Ambassador Kherbi has had a long and distinguished career in the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, holding both political and economic positions. He has served as Ambassador to Austria, Brazil, China, Colombia, Indonesia, and Spain, and as Permanent Representative to the international organizations in Vienna. In June 2001 he was appointed Minister-Delegate for Foreign Affairs, and in June 2002 became the Advisor to the President of the Republic for International Security.

Ambassador Kherbi has participated in numerous regional and international conferences as spokesman for Algeria, the Arab World, Africa, and G-77. A fluent speaker of English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swedish in addition to his native Arabic, Ambassador Kherbi holds a master’s degree in Social Sciences from Uppsala University in Sweden.