On March 6, 2026, the Kabyle government in exile announced the formation of its first complete cabinet following the declaration of independence for the Kabyle region, which was proclaimed in Paris on December 14, 2025. This step is viewed by the movement’s leaders as a crucial organizational and political milestone to manage the transitional phase and structure the institutional framework for the secession project.
The decision was made through a decree signed by the head of the Kabyle government in exile, Ferhat Ait Saïd (Ferhat Mehenni), establishing an executive body responsible for leading political and administrative actions following the independence declaration, focusing on ensuring the continuity of the movement’s structures and coordinating its political and diplomatic activities.
According to the decree, the new government will handle executive tasks that include activating the independence declaration at the institutional level and preparing the legal, administrative, and economic groundwork deemed necessary by the movement’s leadership to exercise what they call “sovereignty.” It will also manage foreign relations and organize international representation for the Kabyle government in exile.
The government comprises various ministries, including those of Interior, Economy and Finance, Health, Culture, Education, Rural Development and Sustainable Tourism, Infrastructure, Sovereignty, Law and Freedoms, along with a ministry for relations with the Kabyle diaspora abroad and a ministry for planning and strategic data. The appointments also include officials in the Prime Minister’s office responsible for monitoring governmental performance and formulating general strategy.
Politically, the announcement of this government reflects an effort by the leadership of the Kabyle self-determination movement to transition from a rhetoric of independence demands to the establishment of parallel institutions that present themselves as a state structure in exile. This shift is seen within the movement as a means to enhance its political presence and organize its activities abroad.
The leaders of the Kabyle government in exile affirm that the establishment of this executive body comes in the context of solidifying what they regard as a new political path following the independence declaration, and laying down an institutional framework to govern the transitional period until the establishment of permanent institutions for what they refer to as the “Kabyle state.”
