Algerian diplomat Boualem Bouguetaia was elected Wednesday vice president of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), diplomatic sources told APS.
The election took place at the headquarters of the ITLOS in Hamburg (Germany), the source added.
Bouguetaia, who holds a PhD in international law delivered by the university of Sorbonne and a degree in Economics and Finance from the Institut of Political Studies in Paris, began a long and successful political career in Algeria. He was an advisor to the Secretary of the Ministry of National Defence (1975-1980) before being appointed Secretary General for External Relations within the party of the National Liberation Front (FLN).
In 1987 he was elected MP at the People’s national Assembly (Lower House) and member of the Central Committee of the FLN in 1989.
In 1993, he entered upon a diplomatic career after he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as head of the Directorate General for Legal Affairs. He was appointed in 2001 Algeria's Ambassador to Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Gambia and Cape Verde.
In 2008, he was elected judge at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea by the General Assembly of States in New York. His "convincing” contribution to the work of the Tribunal, as well as the "respect" he enjoys allowed him to be selected by his peers for the vice-presidency of the Tribunal for a three-year term, the same source stated.
This "new achievement" marks a "remarkable breakthrough" of the Algerian diplomacy and a "real presence", especially in international judicial institutions.