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Moktar Ould Daddah by FOCR from
10 Most Famous People from Mauritania
Mauritania is one of the countries with the richest mineral resources in Africa and the world. They boast iron and ore in plenty. Surprisingly, these resources are seen as a valuable ally in the fight against Islamist militancy in the African, Sahel region. Besides the resources, the country has prominent people that have been involved in its different spheres, and here are a few.
10 Most Famous People from Mauritania.
1. Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz
Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz by Office of the White House from
He is a former politician of Mauritania. He was the president of Mauritania from 2009 until 2019. Before his position as president, he served in the military as a high-ranking officer.
Therefore, being part of the Mauritania troops, he played a key role in the coup that overthrew President Maaouya Ould Sid’Ahmed Taya in August 2005. That wasn’t all, he again led the operation that overthrew President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi in August 2008.
Furthermore, Abdel Aziz assumed the presidency of the High Council of State following the 2008 coup as part of what was referred to as a political transition leading to a new election.
Afterward, he resigned from the position in April 2009 and joined the presidential election contest in July 2009. He emerged as the winner during that election.
2. Med Hondo
This Mauritian film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and voice actor, Med Hondo is a headline name in Mauritania. He immigrated to France in 1959 and began to work in film during the 1960s. His highly celebrated creation as a director was the 1967Soleil 脭 film, which earned him an award.
3. Moktar Ould Daddah
Moktar Ould Daddah was a politician. He was the president of Mauritania from 1960 when the country gained its independence from France and ruled up to 1978. He was overthrown in a military coup.
4. Abdallah Bin Bayyah
Abdallah Bin Bayyah by Web2man from
The Islamic studies professor Bin Bayyah was born in Mauritania. He currently teaches at King Abdul Aziz University in Saudi Arabia. He is an expert in all four of the main Sunni schools, with a focus on the Madh’hab Maliki school.
This Islamic scholar studied legal judgments in Tunisia. He later joined politics and became Minister of Education and later Minister of Justice. Additionally, he was appointed vice president by the first president of Mauritania.
Bin Bayyah is involved in several scholarly councils. Such as the Islamic Fiqh Council and the International Union of Muslim Scholars where he is Vice-President to Yusuf al-Qaradawi.
Moreover, he participates in the European Council for Fatwa and Research. It’s a body of Muslim clerics headquartered in Dublin that attempts to explain Islamic law in a manner that is considerate of the reality faced by European Muslims. He was ranked amongst the 50 most influential Muslims in 2009.
5. Ely Ould Mohamed Vall
Vall was a renowned political and military figure in Mauritania. He presided over Mauritania’s transitional military administration after a coup d’茅tat in August 2005 until April 19, 2007. After the incident, he handed over control to the government that was elected through a democratic process.
Mohamed Vall was instrumental in the ascension to power of President Maaouya Ould Taya. He was Taya’s supporter hence was part of the 1984 coup that made Taya president.
As karma would have it, Maaouya was overthrown in a military coup on August 3, 2005, while he was abroad. A group of officers seized control of the Military Council for Justice and Democracy and declared Vall to be its leader.
Mohamed Vall believed that the title of President should only be used by elected officials so he never assumed it. The new government, which branded Ould Taya’s administration as “totalitarian,” pledged to bring about elections and the return of civilian control in the nation within two years.
Further, they promised a referendum for a new constitution within a year. Also, legislative and presidential elections would follow thereafter. But when election time came, Vall decided not to vie for the presidential seat along with the other members of the military council.
6. Mohamedou Ould Slahi
Mohamedou Ould Slahi by International Committee of the Red Cross from
Ould Slahi is known for the wrong reasons. He was detained at Guantanamo bay detention camp on August 4, 2002. He was alleged to be part of al Qaeda at the time he was held up. Though until his release on October 17, 2016, there were no charges against him.
The U.S. government maintained that Slahi was recruited for al-Qaeda and provided it with other support. What’s more, they suspected his involvement in the attempted LAX bombing. Also, after the 9/11 attacks, he was questioned by the FBI.
It was after that the Central Intelligence Agency(CIA) took him to Jordanian prison where he alleges torture. Slahi was in and out of custody until Nancy Hollander, an internationally recognized criminal defense lawyer took up his case in 2005. Nancy argued Slahi鈥檚 right to a fair trial. He was approved for release in 2016.
Slahi beat all odds and wrote a memoir in 2005 while imprisoned. The memoir was published as Guant谩namo Diary in January 2015. It became an international bestseller but in 2012 the U.S. government declassified it with many redactions. Besides the memoir, he has four other books he did while in detention.
7. Dominique Da Silva
The football player Dominique Da Silva, is of Senegalese and Mauritanian descent. He plays forward for Al-Ahly. Before signing up with CS Sfaxien in 2007, he attended the Acad茅mie de Football Nouakchott for a while. He was moved to Al-Ahly four years later. To appreciate his talent, the Mauritania national team has given him international playing time as well.
8. Abderrahmane Sissako
Abderrahmane Sissako by Georges Biard from
Sissako is a film director and an award-winning producer who has frequently worked in Mali and France. His specialty is in directing motion pictures. He is one of the few filmmakers from Sub-Saharan Africa to have any degree of worldwide influence. Others are Ousmane Semb猫ne, Souleymane Ciss茅, Idrissa Ouedraogo, and Djibril Diop Mambety.
He won the International Federation of Film Critics prize in 2002. His Waiting for Happiness film won the 2002 Cannes Film Festival under the Un Certain Regard selection. He received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2014 to name a few of his accomplishments.
9. Diallo Guidileye
Diallo Guidileye is a soccer midfielder. He is a French-Mauritanian footballer who currently plays for French Ligue 2 club Stade Bres.
10. Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah
Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah is a diplomat. He is a diplomat from Mauritanian and a former top UN official.
Mauritania has little arable land at about 0.5% while most of the country is desert thus is vast expanses of pastoral land. As of 2021, the population was about 4.8 million. Hence translating to 4 inhabitants per square kilometer.
Subsequently, making the country one of the least populated nations on the earth. Even with a relatively small population, it has significant people that have impacted the country and beyond in different sectors. Above is a list of such.
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