Ali Benflis (Arabic: على بن فليس; born 8 September 1944) is an Algerian politician who was Head of Government of Algeria from 2000 to 2004.

Benflis successively held the positions of General Secretary at the office of the Algerian President, as well as Chief of Staff at the Presidential Cabinet.

After that, he was appointed Head of the Government and Secretary-General of the FLN Party, and it was during this post when he ran for president in the 8 April 2004 election.

[3] He is a founding member of the Algerian Human Rights League,[4] which was set up on 11 November 1987 by the Minister of the Interior El Hadi Khediri [fr] and Major-General Larbi Belkheir, with the aim of counteracting the Ligue algérienne pour la défense des droits de l'homme [fr].

[5] This organization states that it aims to defend and promote human rights in Algeria, as well as educate citizens about democracy and good governance.

Benflis was a member of the executive committee of the Algerian Human Rights League, as well as a delegate for the country's eastern area.

It was shortly after this appointment, that he was posted in the central administration of the Ministry of Justice, where he became a sub-director of juvenile delinquency until the end of 1969.

He initiated the adoption of texts consolidating freedom and human rights such as the abolition of the banishment sentence and the elimination of the State Security Court.

[citation needed] According to Al Monitor, "many voters" were "turned off" Benflis because of the killing by authorities of 126[7] (or 127[6]) protesters during the Black Spring that took place in 2001 during his prime ministership.

Four months[citation needed] after the results of the 8 April 2004 presidential election were announced, Benflis retired his mandate as Secretary-General of the FLN Party on 19 August 2004.

Algerian Interior Minister Taieb Belaiz announced on 18 April that Bouteflika had won 81.53% of the vote, while Benflis was second placed with 12.18%.

Ali Benflis is a candidate in the third attempted date for organising the 2019 Algerian presidential election, on 12 December 2019.