The original inhabitants of Mauritania were the Bafour, presumably a Mande ethnic group, connected to the contemporary Arabized minor social group of Imraguen ("fishermen") on the Atlantic coast.
Mauritania is a presidential democracy, but has suffered from repeated military coups since its Independence in November 1960. For 18 years after independence, Mauritania was a one-party state under Moktar Ould Daddah. This was followed by decades of military rule. The first fully democratic presidential election in Mauritania occurred on 11 March 2007, which marked a transfer from military to civilian rule following the military coup in 2005. The election was won by Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, who was ousted by another military coup in 2008 and replaced by general Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz. Mauretania underwent its first peaceful transition of power after the 2019 presidential election, although this was between two presidents of the ruling UPR party and former army generals.
Col. Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidallah was the head of state of Mauritania from 4 January 1980 to 12 December 1984.
Lt. Col. Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Louly was the President of Mauritania and Chairman of the Military Committee for National Salvation (CMSN) from 3 June 1979 to 4 January 1980.
Cheikh El Avia Ould Mohamed Khouna is a Mauritanian political figure. He was the 7th Prime Minister of Mauritania from January 2, 1996, to December 18, 1997, Minister of Foreign Affairs from July 12, 1998, to November 16, 1998, and Prime Minister again from November 16, 1998, to July 6, 2003, under President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya; later, he briefly served as Minister of Foreign Affairs again in 2008.
The Military Committee for National Salvation was a military Government of Mauritania that took power in the 1979 coup d'état. It was installed by Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla, Ahmed Ould Bouceif and fellow officers, in an internal regime/military coup on April 6, 1979, removing Colonel Mustafa Ould Salek of the Military Committee for National Recovery (CMRN) from effective power. He was officially replaced by Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Louly in June 1979. Haidalla would later emerge as the main military strongman and go on to assume full powers in the 1980 coup d'état, only to be deposed by Colonel Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya in the December 1984 coup d'état.
Lt. Col. Ahmed Ould Bouceif was a Mauritanian military officer and political leader. On April 6, 1979, he seized power in a coup d'état together with Col. Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidallah and other officers, ousting Col. Mustafa Ould Salek from real power, however kept in his symbolic position with no real power until June 3, 1979.
Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi was a Mauritanian politician who was President of Mauritania from 2007 to 2008. He served in the government during the 1970s, and after a long period of absence from politics he won the March 2007 presidential election, taking office on 19 April 2007. He was deposed in a military coup d'état on 6 August 2008.
In December 1984, Haidallah was deposed by Colonel Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya, who, while retaining tight military control, relaxed the political climate. Ould Taya moderated Mauritania's previous pro-Algerian stance, and re-established ties with Morocco during the late 1980s. He deepened these ties during the late 1990s and early 2000s as part of Mauritania's drive to attract support from Western states and Western-aligned Arab states. Mauritania has not rescinded its recognition of Polisario's Western Saharan exile government and remains on good terms with Algeria. Its position on the Western Sahara conflict has been, since the 1980s, one of strict neutrality.
Yahya Ould Ahmed El Waghef is a Mauritanian politician. He was appointed as Prime Minister of Mauritania on 6 May 2008, serving until the August 2008 coup d'état. Waghef is also President of the National Pact for Democracy and Development (ADIL), and he was Secretary-General of the Presidency from 2007 to 2008.
Mohamed Lemine Ould Guig is a Mauritanian academic and political figure. He was the 8th Prime Minister of Mauritania from December 18, 1997, to November 16, 1998.
The 2008 Mauritanian coup d'état was a military coup that took place in Mauritania on August 6, 2008, when President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi was ousted from power by the Armed Forces of Mauritania, led by a group of high-ranking generals he had dismissed from office earlier that day.
Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz is a retired Mauritanian military officer and politician who served as the 8th president of Mauritania from 2009 to 2019.
The High Council of State was the supreme political body of Mauritania. It served as the country's interim government following the coup d'état which ousted the President, Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi on August 6, 2008. It was led by General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz. After seizing power, it quickly pledged to hold elections "in the shortest possible period". A few days after seizing power, Ould Abdel Aziz named Mauritanian Ambassador to Belgium and the European Union, Moulaye Ould Mohamed Laghdaf, as Prime Minister.
Ahmed Salim Ould Sidi was a Mauritanian military officer and political leader and acting Prime Minister of Mauritania between 28 and 31 May 1979.
This article is a list of events in the year 2003 in Mauritania.
Mohamed Ould Bilal, is a Mauritanian politician serving as the current Prime Minister of Mauritania since 6 August 2020.
The 1980 Mauritanian coup d'état was a military coup in Mauritania which took place on 4 January 1980. The coup was led by the Prime Minister, Colonel Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla, who seized power from the President, Lieutenant Colonel Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Louly. Haidalla had assumed the presidency of the 24-member ruling Military Committee for National Salvation (CMSN), a military junta which was created following an earlier coup in 1979.
The 1979 Mauritanian coup d'état was a military coup in Mauritania which took place on 6 April 1979. The coup was led by Colonel Ahmed Ould Bouceif and Colonel Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla, who seized power from the President, Colonel Mustafa Ould Salek, and the 20-member ruling Military Committee for National Recovery (CMRN), a military junta which was created following an earlier coup in 1978.
Mauritaniaportal 
