In a new presidential decree signed by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and published in the September 27, 2023 Official Journal, a set of important modifications was introduced. They affect the organization of the Presidency of the Republic. These changes impart more power to the presidential cabinet and underline a repositioning of different directorates and organs inside the Presidency. 

One of the more notable modifications is the reassignment of the General Directorate of Presidential Security and Protection (DGSPP), as well as other general directorates, directly under the authority of the Presidency. This decision strengthens the Presidency’s grip on these key entities. The decree also specifies, in article 12, that the President of the Republic now has an “adviser on Security and Defense matters”. 

The decree also gives the cabinet director, the general secretary of the presidency and the general secretary of the government the right to sign in the name of the President all acts, orders and decisions, except decrees. Moreover, and within their attributions, they can delegate their signature to those who hold higher positions at the Presidency.

This decree clearly aims to reorganize the structure and the powers inside the Presidency, thus consolidating the control and the management of the presidential administration over various entities. 

As for the general organization, the President now has a cabinet headed by a cabinet director, a general secretary of the Presidency, a general secretariat of the government, advisers, a general inspection of state services and local collectivities, as well as other organs and structures. 

The cabinet director’s job is to manage political and international relations files, to monitor government activity, to provide analyses to the President, to coordinate the activities of advisers, to inform the president on the situation in the country, to oversee relations with the media, and other missions. 

The general secretary of the Presidency is responsible for the organization and functioning of presidential services, preparing and executing the budget of the presidency, and coordinating the structures and activities which are under their responsibility. 

As for advisers, they are entrusted with following various fields such as legal, political, economic, social and diplomatic matters, as well as regularly informing the president on the evolution of those fields. 

Lastly, the decree also specifies the structures and organs that are under the authority of the cabinet and the general secretary of the presidency, thus reinforcing the organizational structure of the presidential administration. Article 20 thus explains that “the structures of the presidency, other than those mentioned in the decree, as well as the public institutions and establishments appertaining to or under the authority of the presidency, remain subject to the dispositions that govern them”. 

It is worth noting that article 4 of this new decree specifies that “the services of the Presidency of the Republic are not meant to replace the competent institutions and administrations, nor to interfere with the performance of their attributions”. 

It is also important to underline the fact that this decree replaces decree n° 20-07 dated January 25, 2020, signed by Abdelmadjid Tebboune five weeks after his inauguration, and is the second reorganization of the services of the presidency made by the current president, succeeding decree n° 01-197 dated July 22, 2001, which was enacted under the presidency of Abdelaziz Bouteflika.