Algeria’s President Tebboune returns home after two months of Covid-19 treatment

Algerian leader says he is still recovering

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune delivers a speech during an inauguration ceremony in the presidential palace, in the capital, Algiers. AP

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said on Tuesday that he was back home but still recovering from Covid-19 after two months away receiving care.

“I passed through difficult moments. I am happy to be back, thanks God,” Mr Tebboune said in a video broadcast on national public television. Speaking clearly, he said he needed “a few days” to finish recovering.

Mr Tebboune, 75, was admitted to hospital in Germany in late October.

After nearly two months out of the public eye, the president reappeared in mid-December in a video message, saying it might be several weeks before he was fit enough to return to Algeria.

“Being far away from the country is difficult,” he said in the video broadcast on Tuesday. He wished Algerians a 2021 “full of happiness”.

The long absence of the head of state, who also serves as the country’s defence chief, recalled the lengthy periods during which his predecessor failed to appear in public.

After suffering a stroke in 2013, president Abdelaziz Bouteflika sought treatment in France and later went to Switzerland for numerous medical check-ups.

There was much speculation and little official information about his whereabouts and condition.

Mr Bouteflika stayed in power but his public appearances became less frequent.

He was forced to abandon his bid for a fifth term last year before being pushed from office under pressure from protesters and the army.

Prime Minister Abdelaziz Djerad has been in charge during Mr Tebboune’s absence.