[2] Throughout his career, Ahmed Attaf held several important diplomatic positions, including Algerian Ambassador to India, Yugoslavia, and the United Kingdom.

[3] In March 1994, Ahmed Attaf was appointed Secretary of State for Cooperation and Maghreb Affairs, and later also designated as the government spokesperson starting from October 1994.

Prior to his government appointment, Ahmed Attaf was known for his support for the closure of the borders between Algeria and Morocco, which he justified due to the smuggling of Algerian food products and drug trafficking.

He was also the President of the RND parliamentary group in the National People's Assembly and again the leading candidate in the Algerian legislative elections of 2002 in Aïn Defla.

In 2014, he was expelled from the RND by President Abdelkader Bensalah after joining the Avant-garde des libertés (AGL) party founded by Ali Benflis.

On 16 March 2023 Ahmed Attaf was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs and National Community Abroad in the Benabderrahmane government during a ministerial reshuffle, succeeding Ramtane Lamamra.

[8] In June 2023, Attaf met with representatives of the United Nations in New York to strengthen support for Algeria's candidacy as a non-permanent member of the Security Council for the period 2024-2025.

[11] L'intégrisme, une contre-culture en Algérie, Entretiens avec Bachir Boumaaza, Ahmed Attaf et Abdelkader Taffar.