Lt. Col. Ahmed Ould Bouceif ( ar, أحمد ولد بوسيف, 1934 – 27 May 1979) was a

Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...

n military and political leader. In April 1979, he seized power in a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

together with Col. Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidallah and other officers, ousting Col.

Mustafa Ould Salek Col. Mustafa Ould Salek ( ar, المصطفى ولد محمد السالك; ‎ 1936 – 18 December 2012) was the President of Mauritania from 1978 through 1979. Biography Mustafa Ould Salek was appointed army commander by longtime Pres ...

from power. He became the 2nd

Prime Minister of Mauritania This is a list of prime ministers of Mauritania since the formation of the post of Prime Minister of Mauritania in 1960 to the present day. A total of sixteen people have served as Prime Minister of Mauritania (not counting one Acting Prime Mi ...

in the new government. He was killed the following month in an

airplane An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations. The broad spe ...

crash off the coast of

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

, at which point Haidallah emerged as the regime's main strongma

References

1934 births 1979 deaths Mauritanian military personnel State leaders killed in aviation accidents or incidents Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Senegal {{Mauritania-mil-bio-stub