Ferhat Mehenni

Mas Ferhat Mehenni
Ferḥat Mhenni
Photo taken at the gathering of September 4, 2011, on the Plaza of Human Rights in Paris.
1st President of the Anavad
Incumbent
Assumed office June 4, 2010
Prime Minister	See list Lhacène Ziani Zidane Lafdal Hanafi Ferhouh
1st & 5th President of the MAK
Incumbent
Assumed office November 17, 2016
Preceded by	Bouaziz Ait Chebib
In office August 24, 2001 – December 9, 2011
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Mohand-Larbi Tayeb
Personal details
Born	(1951-03-05) March 5, 1951 Illoula Oumalou, Tizi Ouzou Province, Algeria
Citizenship	Kabyle
Party	MCB RCD (1989–1997) MAK (2001–present)
Alma mater	University of Algiers
Profession	Politician
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Ferhat Mehenni (Kabyle: Ferḥat Mhenni; born March 5, 1951) also known as Ferhat Imazighen Imula (Kabyle: Ferḥat Imaziɣen Imula) is a Kabyle politician in exile, writer, protest singer, musician and songwriter, founder and first President of the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylia. He has been President of the Kabyle Provisional Government since June 1, 2010.

Career and Politics

Early life

Mehenni was born on March 5, 1951, in Illoula Oumalou, Tizi Ouzou Province, Algeria. He graduated from the University of Algiers with a degree in political science. Soon after, he began his career as a protest singer and political activist.

Activism

Due to his struggle for human right, and his fight for the Amazigh and indigenous cultural right, Mehenni was arrested 13 times, imprisoned for 3 years, and tortured repeatedly by Algerian military regime.

In response to the Black Spring massacre in Kabylia, Mehenni established the Movement for the Autonomy of Kabylia. The MAK was later reformed into the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylia.

Mehenni's eldest son, Améziane Mehenni, was assassinated in 2004.

Pro-Israel

Mehenni has long been an outspoken supporter of Israel, drawing comparisons between his own cause and the Zionist cause. He made a visit to Israel in 2012, meeting Likud hardliners such as Danny Danon, and took part in a pro-Israel demonstration in Paris in October 2023 amid the Gaza war. The relation has been described as consistent with Israel's periphery doctrine.

Discography

• Chants révolutionnaires de Kabylie (1979)
• Chants berbères de lutte et d'espoir (1981)
• L'Algérie a 20 ans (1983)
• Chants d'acier...d'amour et de liberté (1994)
• Chants de feu et de l'eau (1996)
• Hymne à la Kabylie (2002)
• Requiem et Espoir (2008)
• Liberté pour la Kabylie (2015)

Publications

• Mehenni, Ferhat (2004). Algérie : la question kabyle. Paris: Éditions Michalon. p. 187. ISBN 978-2-84186-226-9.
• Mehenni, Ferhat (2010). Le siècle identitaire [la fin des États post-coloniaux] (in French). Paris: Éditions Michalon. p. 192. ISBN 978-2-84186-544-4.
• Mehenni, Ferhat (2013). Afrique : le casse-tête français [La France va-t-elle perdre l'Afrique ?] (in French). Paris: Les éditions de Passy. p. 112. ISBN 978-2-35146-054-2.
• Mehenni, Ferhat (2015). Noël en otage (in French). Paris: Éditions Michalon. p. 192. ISBN 978-2-84186-814-8.
• Mehenni, Ferhat (2017). Kabylie [Mémorandum pour l'indépendance] (in French). Paris: Éditions Fauves. p. 286. ISBN 979-10-302-007-75.
• Mehenni, Ferhat (2021). Réflexions dans le feu de l'action [Histoire de la renaissance du peuple kabyle] (in French). Paris: Éditions Fauves. p. 374. ISBN 979-10-302-0392-9.