Ali Haddad, who is among the most loyal stalwarts of the Bouteflika clan and reputedly close to the president's brother Saïd, has gradually established himself as the key intermediary between the business world and the governing regime. Head of the Algerian construction group, ETRHB, in November 2014 he became head of the employers' forum FCE, which is widely regarded as an unofficial second economy ministry. He owes his success to public sector orders but his influence today extends to the highest level in the Algerian state and all economic sectors.
Behind his success are people little known to the public, namely his brothers, Mustapha Rahiel, director of the private office of prime minister Abdelmalek Sellal, and financier Sid Ali Chercham, who provided him with privileged access to Algeria's public sector banks. These allies have enabled him to position himself as a partner of choice for international groups, to diversify his activity portfolio into such key economic sectors as sport, the media and air transport, to become the leader of the private sector companies who form the FCE and to become one of the main sources of funding for Bouteflika's presidential election campaigns in 2009 and 2014.