Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, President of Mauritania since 2019, has emerged as an unexpected pillar of stability. A former general, Ghazouani was involved in two of the six coups that rocked the nation following its independence from France in 1960.
In his first coup, he played a role in overthrowing Maaouya Ould Sid’Ahmed Taya, who had maintained a two-decade-long repressive rule after seizing power through a coup. In his second, he helped depose the country’s first democratically elected president, replacing him with his ally, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, who later served two presidential terms.
Despite his tumultuous past, Ghazouani has overseen a period of remarkable calm. Although his tenure has seen the arrest of opposition figures, his 2019 election marked Mauritania’s first peaceful transfer of power.
He has cooperated with opposition parties, expanded social security, and distanced himself from his predecessor, Aziz, who was jailed for corruption in December. As defense minister and later president, Ghazouani was instrumental in driving out al-Qaeda in the Maghreb, an Algeria-based jihadist group responsible for a string of deadly attacks in Mauritania between 2005 and 2011.
Through community outreach, negotiations with Islamists, and military modernization, extremism has been eradicated, and Mauritania has been free of terrorism for over 13 years. Ghazouani is anticipated to win a second term in the upcoming presidential election on June 29th, which the UN expects to be fair and peaceful.
