Moktar Ould Daddah
Encyclopedia
Moktar Ould Daddah was the President of Mauritania
from 1960, when his country gained its independence from France
, to 1978, when he was deposed in a military coup d'etat
.
family of the Ouled Birri
tribe in Boutilimit
, Mauritania. As a law student in Paris
, he graduated as the first Mauritanian to hold a university
degree.
On his return to Mauritania in the late 1950s, Daddah joined the centre-left Progressive Mauritanian Union, and was elected President of the Executive Council. In 1959, however, he established a new political party, the Mauritanian Regrouping Party. In the last pre-independence legislative elections held later that year, his party won every seat in the National Assembly
, and he was appointed Prime Minister
.
He was known for his ability to establish a consensus among different political parties, as well as between the White Moors, Black Moors and Black Africans, Mauritania's three main ethnic groups. The balanced representation of different ethnic and political groups in his government won the confidence of the French authorities, who granted independence
to Mauritania under his leadership in 1960. Daddah was named Acting President of the new republic
, and was confirmed in office in the first post-independence election in August 1961.
. He formalized the one-party state in 1964 with a new Constitution
, which set up an authoritarian
presidential regime. Daddah justified this decision on the grounds that he considered Mauritania unready for western-style multi-party democracy
. Under this one-party constitution, Daddah was reelected in uncontested elections in 1966, 1971 and 1976.
In 1971, Daddah served as President of the Organization of African Unity (OAU). At home, however, his policies were failing. The economy was stagnating and remained strongly dependent on French aid. Moreover, drought in the Sahel
, principally in the period between 1969 and 1974, and a decline in export revenues due to fall in international prices of iron
, had lowered living standards
considerably. In 1975, he presented a charter which called for Mauritania to become an "Islam
ic, nationalist
, centralist
, and socialist
democracy
." This charter was initially popular, and the opposition, in general, welcomed it.
was great dissatisfaction with Mauritania's war in Western Sahara
against the Polisario Front
, an indigenous
movement fighting against the Moroccan
-Mauritanian attempt to jointly annex
the territory, starting in 1975
. Ould Daddah had claimed the territory
since before independence, but the idea was not well anchored in the greater population. The Mauritanian Moors
are closely related to the Sahrawis, and virtually all northern tribe
s had members on both sides of the (former) frontier, many of whom sympathized with the Polisario's demands for independence. In addition to providing support for guerrillas
in northern Mauritania, several thousand Mauritanians left the country to join the Polisario in its Tindouf
camps. Further dissatisfaction arose in the South, from where Black troops were sent to fight what they regarded as an essentially inter-Arab
conflict, and one which could, if successful, entrench Ould Daddah's discriminatory rule even further by the addition of several thousand new Moorish citizens. But Ould Daddah additionally sought the territory in order to prevent it from falling into Moroccan hands, still wary of the officially defunct Moroccan territorial demands
on Mauritania.
Following the Madrid Accords
with Spain, Mauritania annexed a southern portion of the territory, renaming it Tiris al-Gharbiya. However, the small and poorly trained Mauritanian army failed to stop the guerilla incursions, despite backing from the French Air Force
. Polisario then turned to attacking the iron mine
s in Zouerate, at which point the country's economy
started backsliding, and Daddah's public support tumbled. In 1976, the capital Nouakchott
was attacked by the Polisario Front, and Daddah was forced to appoint a military officer to head the ministry of defence.
ousted Daddah in a military coup, and installed a junta to rule the country in his place. His successors would surrender Mauritania's claims to Western Sahara and withdraw from the war the following year.
After a period of imprisonment, Ould Daddah was allowed to go into exile
in France
in August 1979, where he organized an opposition group, the Alliance pour une Mauritanie Democratique
(AMD) in 1980. Attempts to overthrow the regime from abroad were unsuccessful. Ould Daddah was allowed to return to Mauritania on July 17, 2001, but died soon after, following a long illness, in Paris
on October 14, 2003. His body was subsequently flown back to Mauritania, where it is buried.
Mauritania
Mauritania is a country in the Maghreb and West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Western Sahara in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest...
from 1960, when his country gained its independence from France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, to 1978, when he was deposed in a military coup d'etat
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
.
Background
Daddah was born to an important maraboutMarabout
A marabout is a Muslim religious leader and teacher in West Africa, and in the Maghreb. The marabout is often a scholar of the Qur'an, or religious teacher. Others may be wandering holy men who survive on alms, Sufi Murshids , or leaders of religious communities...
family of the Ouled Birri
Ouled Birri
The Ouled Birri is a Moorish tribe in the Trarza region of northern Mauritania. It is a Zawia tribe. The Oulad Birri have produced a number of important Marabouts of the Qadiriyya Sufi tariqa: most famous among them was Shaykh Sidya Baba, who aided the Frenchman Xavier Coppolani in bringing the...
tribe in Boutilimit
Boutilimit
Boutilimit lies 164 km south east of Mauritania's capital of Nouakchott. The town has been an important center of religious scholarship and training since its founding by an Islamic mystic and scholar in the 19th Century. Although desertification has sapped much of the community's economic energy,...
, Mauritania. As a law student in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, he graduated as the first Mauritanian to hold a university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
degree.
On his return to Mauritania in the late 1950s, Daddah joined the centre-left Progressive Mauritanian Union, and was elected President of the Executive Council. In 1959, however, he established a new political party, the Mauritanian Regrouping Party. In the last pre-independence legislative elections held later that year, his party won every seat in the National Assembly
National Assembly of Mauritania
The Parliament has two chambers. The National Assembly has 81 members, elected for a five year term in single-seat constituencies. From 1961-1978, the only legal party was the Parti du Peuple Mauritanien . In the 1990s, a multiparty system was introduced in Mauritania...
, and he was appointed Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
.
He was known for his ability to establish a consensus among different political parties, as well as between the White Moors, Black Moors and Black Africans, Mauritania's three main ethnic groups. The balanced representation of different ethnic and political groups in his government won the confidence of the French authorities, who granted independence
Independence
Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state in which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory....
to Mauritania under his leadership in 1960. Daddah was named Acting President of the new republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
, and was confirmed in office in the first post-independence election in August 1961.
President of Mauritania
As President, Daddah pursued policies that differed markedly from those he had professed prior to independence. In September 1961, he formed a "government of national unity" with the main opposition party, and in December, he arranged for the four largest parties to merge as the Mauritanian People's Party (PPM), which became the sole legal partySingle-party state
A single-party state, one-party system or single-party system is a type of party system government in which a single political party forms the government and no other parties are permitted to run candidates for election...
. He formalized the one-party state in 1964 with a new Constitution
Constitution of Mauritania
The current Constitution of Mauritania was adopted on 12 July 1991. There have been several constitutions since Mauritania's independence in 1960.-Current constitution:...
, which set up an authoritarian
Authoritarianism
Authoritarianism is a form of social organization characterized by submission to authority. It is usually opposed to individualism and democracy...
presidential regime. Daddah justified this decision on the grounds that he considered Mauritania unready for western-style multi-party democracy
Multi-party system
A multi-party system is a system in which multiple political parties have the capacity to gain control of government separately or in coalition, e.g.The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition in the United Kingdom formed in 2010. The effective number of parties in a multi-party system is normally...
. Under this one-party constitution, Daddah was reelected in uncontested elections in 1966, 1971 and 1976.
In 1971, Daddah served as President of the Organization of African Unity (OAU). At home, however, his policies were failing. The economy was stagnating and remained strongly dependent on French aid. Moreover, drought in the Sahel
Sahel
The Sahel is the ecoclimatic and biogeographic zone of transition between the Sahara desert in the North and the Sudanian Savannas in the south.It stretches across the North African continent between the Atlantic Ocean and the Red Sea....
, principally in the period between 1969 and 1974, and a decline in export revenues due to fall in international prices of iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
, had lowered living standards
Standard of living
Standard of living is generally measured by standards such as real income per person and poverty rate. Other measures such as access and quality of health care, income growth inequality and educational standards are also used. Examples are access to certain goods , or measures of health such as...
considerably. In 1975, he presented a charter which called for Mauritania to become an "Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic, nationalist
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
, centralist
Centralization
Centralisation, or centralization , is the process by which the activities of an organisation, particularly those regarding planning and decision-making, become concentrated within a particular location and/or group....
, and socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
." This charter was initially popular, and the opposition, in general, welcomed it.
War in Western Sahara
What brought an end to Ould Daddah's regimeRegime
The word regime refers to a set of conditions, most often of a political nature.-Politics:...
was great dissatisfaction with Mauritania's war in Western Sahara
Western Sahara
Western Sahara is a disputed territory in North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its surface area amounts to . It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly...
against the Polisario Front
Polisario Front
The POLISARIO, Polisario Front, or Frente Polisario, from the Spanish abbreviation of Frente Popular de Liberación de Saguía el Hamra y Río de Oro is a Sahrawi rebel national liberation movement working for the independence of Western Sahara from Morocco...
, an indigenous
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
movement fighting against the Moroccan
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
-Mauritanian attempt to jointly annex
Annexation
Annexation is the de jure incorporation of some territory into another geo-political entity . Usually, it is implied that the territory and population being annexed is the smaller, more peripheral, and weaker of the two merging entities, barring physical size...
the territory, starting in 1975
Madrid Accords
The Madrid Accords, also called Madrid Agreement or Madrid Pact, was a treaty between Spain, Morocco, and Mauritania to end the Spanish presence in the territory of Spanish Sahara, which was until the Madrid Accords' inception a Spanish province and former colony. It was signed in Madrid on...
. Ould Daddah had claimed the territory
Greater Morocco
Greater Morocco is a label historically used by some Moroccan anti-colonial political leaders protesting against Spanish and French rule, to refer to wider territories historically associated with the Moroccan Sultan...
since before independence, but the idea was not well anchored in the greater population. The Mauritanian Moors
Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...
are closely related to the Sahrawis, and virtually all northern tribe
Tribe
A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
s had members on both sides of the (former) frontier, many of whom sympathized with the Polisario's demands for independence. In addition to providing support for guerrillas
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
in northern Mauritania, several thousand Mauritanians left the country to join the Polisario in its Tindouf
Tindouf Province
Tindouf, also written Tinduf, is the westernmost province of Algeria, having a population of 58,193 as of the 2008 census. Despite the barren landscape, Tindouf is a resource-rich province, with important quantities of iron ore located in the Gara Djebilet area close to the border with Mali...
camps. Further dissatisfaction arose in the South, from where Black troops were sent to fight what they regarded as an essentially inter-Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
conflict, and one which could, if successful, entrench Ould Daddah's discriminatory rule even further by the addition of several thousand new Moorish citizens. But Ould Daddah additionally sought the territory in order to prevent it from falling into Moroccan hands, still wary of the officially defunct Moroccan territorial demands
Greater Morocco
Greater Morocco is a label historically used by some Moroccan anti-colonial political leaders protesting against Spanish and French rule, to refer to wider territories historically associated with the Moroccan Sultan...
on Mauritania.
Following the Madrid Accords
Madrid Accords
The Madrid Accords, also called Madrid Agreement or Madrid Pact, was a treaty between Spain, Morocco, and Mauritania to end the Spanish presence in the territory of Spanish Sahara, which was until the Madrid Accords' inception a Spanish province and former colony. It was signed in Madrid on...
with Spain, Mauritania annexed a southern portion of the territory, renaming it Tiris al-Gharbiya. However, the small and poorly trained Mauritanian army failed to stop the guerilla incursions, despite backing from the French Air Force
French Air Force
The French Air Force , literally Army of the Air) is the air force of the French Armed Forces. It was formed in 1909 as the Service Aéronautique, a service arm of the French Army, then was made an independent military arm in 1933...
. Polisario then turned to attacking the iron mine
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
s in Zouerate, at which point the country's economy
Economy
An economy consists of the economic system of a country or other area; the labor, capital and land resources; and the manufacturing, trade, distribution, and consumption of goods and services of that area...
started backsliding, and Daddah's public support tumbled. In 1976, the capital Nouakchott
Nouakchott
-Government:The town was first divided into districts in 1973. First it was divided into four. From 1986, the city has been split into nine districts.* Arafat* Dar Naim* El Mina* Ksar* Riad* Sebkha* Tevragh-Zeina* Teyarett* Toujounine...
was attacked by the Polisario Front, and Daddah was forced to appoint a military officer to head the ministry of defence.
Downfall and later life
On July 10, 1978, Lt. Col. Mustafa Ould SalekMustafa Ould Salek
Col. Mustafa Ould Salek was the President of Mauritania from 1978 through 1979.Mustafa Ould Salek was appointed army commander by longtime President Mokhtar Ould Daddah in February, 1978, as the country faced dire economic crisis and was failing to contain the Polisario Front's Sahrawi guerrillas...
ousted Daddah in a military coup, and installed a junta to rule the country in his place. His successors would surrender Mauritania's claims to Western Sahara and withdraw from the war the following year.
After a period of imprisonment, Ould Daddah was allowed to go into exile
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in August 1979, where he organized an opposition group, the Alliance pour une Mauritanie Democratique
Alliance pour une Mauritanie Democratique
The Alliance for a Democratic Mauritania was a Mauritanian clandestine opposition movement....
(AMD) in 1980. Attempts to overthrow the regime from abroad were unsuccessful. Ould Daddah was allowed to return to Mauritania on July 17, 2001, but died soon after, following a long illness, in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
on October 14, 2003. His body was subsequently flown back to Mauritania, where it is buried.