Algerian radical Muslim independence movement. It was formed in 1954 as the political expression of the ALN (Armée de Libération Nationale) when the Algerian war of independence broke out. In spite of differences of opinion between military, political, and religious leaders, the movement hung together, and brought its military leader, Ben Bella, to power successfully as the first President of Algeria in 1962 following President de Gaulle’s successful national referendums on the Évian Agreements. The principal policies of the party were independence, economic development in a socialist state, non-alignment, and brotherly relations with other Arab states. In 1989 Algeria’s constitution was amended so that other political parties were legalized, but the FLN continued to hold all the seats in the National Assembly. Its incipient defeat by extreme Islamists in the 1992 elections led to a military coup. With the restoration of multiparty elections in 1997, the FLN lost its dominating position but has regained this in elections since 2002. It is currently (2018) the party of both the President and the Prime Minister, and the leading member of the governing coalition in the People’s National Assembly. With its ally, Rassemblement National Démocratique, it retained an overwhelming majority in the National Assembly elections in 2017.