Seghir Mostefai
Seghir Mostefai (1926 – 21 January 2016) was an Algerian lawyer, economist and high civil servant. He graduated with a master's degree in law and economics from Sorbonne University, Paris. Long time anti-colonial activist with responsibilities in the political independentist organization in Algeria and later in exile in Tunis, he participated to the negotiation of the Évian Accords leading to the independence of Algeria. He founded the Central Bank of Algeria, created the national currency and served as Governor of the Central Bank, representing Algeria at the board of the IMF for 20 years. Mostefai played a key role in the negotiations for the liberation of the American hostages in Tehran in 1981. He died on 21 January 2016, at the age of 89. The Evian Accords Missioned by the Gouvernement Provisoire de la République algérienne (Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic) known as GPRA, based in Tunis, Seghir Mostefai was a member of the Algerian delegation that negotiated the “Évian Accords” for the independence of Algeria signed on March 18, 1962. Confusion is often made with his uncle Dr Chawki Mostefai, one of the leaders of the anti-colonialist movement, member of the GPRA, known for being the designer of the Algerian flag which was displayed during the demonstrations of May 8, 1945. After secretly meeting with him in Morocco in 1962, Nelson Mandela referred to him as his first political mentor. Central Bank of Algeria Creation of BCA During the years preceding the independence of Algeria, Seghir Mostefai was based in Tunis and was hired by the Tunisian government as an expert for the Ministry of Finance and an adviser to Governor of the Central Bank of Tunisia. Immediately after the independence was proclaimed he was in charge of representing the Algerian government at the board of Banque de l'Algérie, the French colonial monetary institution, to create within a few months the new independent Algerian central bank “Banque Centrale d’Algérie” (BCA) and to represent Algeria at the boards of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. Algerian Dinar and gold reserves In 1964, he created the national currency, the Algerian Dinar, and later set up the country's sovereign printing of banknotes, making Algeria the first country in the Arab world and in Africa to be able to print its money independently. The BCA assisted several African countries to create their central banks, their national currencies and to have their money printed in Algeria. In 1971, after the United States had decided to put an end to the international convertibility of the US Dollar to gold, he obtained from the Federal Reserve to make an exception for Algeria which enabled him to create the first gold reserves of the country. International organizations Very active to promote the interests of Third World nations in the International Monetary Fund he was one of the three founders of the Group of 24 (G-24) in 1971. He represented Algeria at the Arab Monetary Fund and collaborated as an expert with international organizations