General Mohamed Mediene (Arabic: الجنرال محمد مدين‎), also known as Toufik (توفيق), is head of the Algerian secret services, the Intelligence and Security Department (Département du renseignement et de la sécurité, DRS). He was born in 1939 to a Kabyle family from Guenzet (Bordj Bou Arréridj Province), but grew up near Algiers at Saint-Eugene (Bologhine). He joined the National Liberation Army in 1961, a few months before Algeria's independence. Shortly after independence, he studied at a KGB school. He was then posted to the 2nd military region (around Oran), then commanded by future President Chadli Bendjedid, where he established ties with Larbi Belkheir. In 1983, he was posted to Tripoli (Libya) as military attaché. Soon after returning, he became head of the Department of Defense and Security in 1986, under Bendjedid's presidency and Belkheir's term as head of Cabinet. The next year he became head of Army Security, and in September 1990, he became head of the newly created DRS, a post he occupies to this day. The military coup of 1992 only increased his power; in 1993, he was promoted to general-major. In July 2006, he was promoted to Lieutenant General (Général de corps d'armée.) He is regarded as a leading power behind the scenes, and a member of the eradicationist faction of the army.[1]