Ferhat Mehenni

Ferhat Mehenni (; born March 5, 1951) also known as Ferhat Imazighen 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. 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