Moktar Ould Daddah ( ar, مختار ولد داداه, Mukhtār Wald Dāddāh; December 25, 1924 – October 14, 2003) was a Mauritanian politician who led the country after it gained its independence from
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. Daddah served as the country's first
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
from 1957 to 1961 and as its first
President of Mauritania
This is a list of heads of state of Mauritania since the country gained independence from France in 1960 to the present day.
A total of nine people have served as head of state of Mauritania (not counting one Acting President). Additionally, o ...
, a position he held from 1960 until he was deposed in a military
coup d'etat in 1978.
He established a
one-party state
A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system, or single-party system is a type of sovereign state in which only one political party has the right to form the government, usually based on the existing constitution. All other parties ...
, with his
Mauritanian People's Party
Mauritanian People's Party (PPM, French ''Parti du peuple mauritanien''; Arabic: حزب الشعب الموريتاني ''Hizb Al-Sha'ab Al-Muritaniy'') was the sole legal party of Mauritania from 1961 to 1978. It was headed by President Moktar ...
being the sole legal political entity in the country, and followed a policy of "
Islamic socialism
Islamic socialism is a political philosophy that incorporates Islamic principles into socialism. As a term, it was coined by various Muslim leaders to describe a more spiritual form of socialism. Islamic socialists believe that the teachings ...
" with many
nationalization
Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...
s of private businesses. In his memoirs, Daddah expressed concern that the issue of
slavery in Mauritania
Slavery has been called "deeply rooted" in the structure of the northwestern African country of Mauritania, and "closely tied" to the ethnic composition of the country, despite the ending of slavery across other African countries and colonial owne ...
could lead to armed conflict that would ultimately destroy the country.
In foreign affairs, he joined the
Non-Aligned Movement
The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 120 countries that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. After the United Nations, it is the largest grouping of states worldwide.
The movement originated in the aftermath o ...
and maintained strong links with
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...
and the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, but he also accepted Western (especially
French) foreign aid. During his presidency, Mauritania saw conflict with the
Polisario Front
The Polisario Front, Frente Polisario, Frelisario or simply Polisario, from the Spanish abbreviation of (Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro), (in ar, rtl=yes, الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير الس ...
in
Western Sahara
Western Sahara ( '; ; ) is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), while the r ...
after working to broker a deal to divide the territory with
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
.
Background
Ould Daddah was born to an important
marabout
A marabout ( ar, مُرابِط, murābiṭ, lit=one who is attached/garrisoned) is a Muslim religious leader and teacher who historically had the function of a chaplain serving as a part of an Islamic army, notably in North Africa and the Saha ...
family of the
Ouled Birri tribe in
Boutilimit
Boutilimit ( ar, بوتلميت) lies 164 km south east of Mauritania's capital of Nouakchott.
The estimated population in 2005 was 27,170.
The town is also well known in the region for its production of handicraft items, particularly rug ...
,
Mauritania
Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...
,
French West Africa
French West Africa (french: Afrique-Occidentale française, ) was a federation of eight French colonial territories in West Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guinea (now Guinea), Ivory Coast, Upper Volta (now Burki ...
. After attending elite Islamic academies, he worked for the French colonial administrators as a translator. As a law student in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, he graduated as the first Mauritanian to hold a
university
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
degree. He was later admitted to the bar at
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 in 1955. Upon his return to Mauritania in the late 1950s, Daddah joined the centre-left
Mauritanian Progressive Union
The Mauritanian Progressive Union (french: Union progressiste mauritanienne, UPM) was a political party in pre-independence Mauritania.
History
The UPM was established in February 1948, in order to form a more conservative and regionally-based o ...
, and was elected President of its Executive Council. In 1959, however, he established a new political party, the
Mauritanian Regroupment Party
Mauritanian Regroupment Party (PRM, French ''Parti de Regroupement Mauritanien''; Arabic: حزب التجمع الموريتاني ) was a political party in Mauritania from 1958 to 1961. Although nominally led by party President Sidi el-Mokhtar ...
. In the last pre-independence legislative elections held later that year, his party won every seat in the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...
, and he was appointed
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
.
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
Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in s ...
, Mauritania's three main
ethnic
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
groups. The balanced representation of different ethnic and political groups in his government won the confidence of the French authorities, who granted
independence
Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
to Mauritania under his leadership in 1960. Daddah was named Acting President of the new
republic
A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
, and was confirmed in office in the first post-independence election in August 1961.
President of Mauritania (1960-1978)
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
Mauritanian People's Party (PPM, French ''Parti du peuple mauritanien''; Arabic: حزب الشعب الموريتاني ''Hizb Al-Sha'ab Al-Muritaniy'') was the sole legal party of Mauritania from 1961 to 1978. It was headed by President Moktar ...
(PPM), which became the
sole legal party. He formalized the one-party state in 1964 with a new
Constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When ...
, which set up an
authoritarian
Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic votin ...
presidential regime. Daddah justified this decision on the grounds that he considered Mauritania unready for western-style
multi-party democracy
In political science, a multi-party system is a political system in which multiple political parties across the political spectrum run for national elections, and all have the capacity to gain control of government offices, separately or in coal ...
. 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
The Organisation of African Unity (OAU; french: Organisation de l'unité africaine, OUA) was an intergovernmental organization established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with 32 signatory governments. One of the main heads for OAU's ...
(OAU). At home, however, his policies were criticized. The economy remained strongly dependent on Chinese and French
foreign aid
In international relations, aid (also known as international aid, overseas aid, foreign aid, economic aid or foreign assistance) is – from the perspective of governments – a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another.
Ai ...
. Moreover, drought in the
Sahel
The Sahel (; ar, ساحل ' , "coast, shore") is a region in North Africa. It is defined as the ecoclimatic and biogeographic realm of transition between the Sahara to the north and the Sudanian savanna to the south. Having a hot semi-arid c ...
, principally in the period between 1969 and 1974, and a decline in export revenues due to fall in international prices of
iron
Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...
, had lowered
living standards
Standard of living is the level of income, comforts and services available, generally applied to a society or location, rather than to an individual. Standard of living is relevant because it is considered to contribute to an individual's quality ...
considerably. In 1975, he presented a charter which called for Mauritania to become an "
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
ic,
nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
,
centralist
Centralisation or centralization (see spelling differences) is the process by which the activities of an organisation, particularly those regarding planning and decision-making, framing strategy and policies become concentrated within a particu ...
, and
socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
democracy
Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...
." This charter was initially popular, and the
opposition
Opposition may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars
* The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band
* ''The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Comed ...
, in general, welcomed it.
On the 18th of July 1974, president Moktar Ould Daddah, who was on a state visit to Nigeria, paid a visit to
Sultan Abubakar, a fellow Islamic scholar, and friend in the company of General
Yakubu Gowon
Yakubu Dan-Yumma 'Jack' Gowon (born 19 October 1934) is a retired Nigerian Army general and military leader. As Head of State of Nigeria, Gowon presided over a controversial Nigerian Civil War and delivered the famous "no victor, no vanquish ...
.
War in Western Sahara
What brought an end to Ould Daddah's
regime
In politics, a regime (also "régime") is the form of government or the set of rules, cultural or social norms, etc. that regulate the operation of a government or institution and its interactions with society. According to Yale professor Juan Jo ...
was Mauritania's war in
Western Sahara
Western Sahara ( '; ; ) is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), while the r ...
against the
Polisario Front
The Polisario Front, Frente Polisario, Frelisario or simply Polisario, from the Spanish abbreviation of (Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro), (in ar, rtl=yes, الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير الس ...
, an
indigenous
Indigenous may refer to:
*Indigenous peoples
*Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention
*Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band
*Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...
movement fighting against the
Moroccan-Mauritanian attempt to jointly
annex
Annex or Annexe refers to a building joined to or associated with a main building, providing additional space or accommodations.
It may also refer to:
Places
* The Annex, a neighbourhood in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada
* The Annex (New H ...
the territory,
starting in 1975. Ould Daddah had claimed the territory as part of
Greater Mauritania
Greater Mauritania () is a term for the Mauritanian irredentist claim that generally includes the Western Sahara and other Sahrawi-populated areas of the western Sahara desert. The term was initially used by Mauritania's first president, Mokhtar ...
since 1957, three years before independence, but the idea had only limited support in the general population. The Mauritanian
Moors
The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages.
Moors are not a distinct or ...
are closely related to the
Sahrawis, and virtually all northern
tribe
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...
s had members on both sides of the (former) frontier, many of whom sympathized with the Polisario's demands for independence.
![Moktar Ould Daddah - 1977 cropped](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/Moktar_Ould_Daddah_-_1977_cropped.jpg)
In addition to the government's support for
guerrillas
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run tacti ...
in northern Mauritania, several thousand Mauritanians left the country to join the Polisario in its
Tindouf
Tindouf ( Berber: Tinduf, ar, تندوف) is the main town, and a commune in Tindouf Province, Algeria, close to the Mauritanian, Western Saharan and Moroccan borders. The commune has population of around 160,000 but the census and population ...
camps. Further dissatisfaction arose in the South, from where Black troops were sent to fight what they regarded as an essentially inter-
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
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
The Madrid Accords, formally the Declaration of Principles on Western Sahara, was a treaty between Spain, Morocco, and Mauritania setting out six principles which would end the Spanish presence in the territory of Spanish Sahara and arrange a t ...
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
The French Air and Space Force (AAE) (french: Armée de l'air et de l'espace, ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. It was the first military aviation force in history, formed in 1909 as the , a service arm of the French Army; ...
. Polisario then turned to attacking the iron
mine
Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to:
Extraction or digging
* Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging
*Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine
Grammar
*Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun
...
s in
Zouerate, at which point the country's
economy
An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...
started backsliding, and Daddah's public support tumbled. In 1976, the capital
Nouakchott
, image_skyline = Nouakchott.jpg
, image_caption = City view of Nouakchott
, pushpin_map = Mauritania#Arab world#Africa
, pushpin_relief = 1
, mapsize =
, map_caption ...
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 10 July 1978,
Lt. Col.
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
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 Presid ...
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 is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...
in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
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 17 July 2001, but died soon after at a military hospital, following a long illness, in
Paris, France
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
on 14 October 2003. His body was subsequently flown back to Mauritania, where it is buried.
Honours
Foreign honours
*
Empire of Iran
The Pahlavi dynasty ( fa, دودمان پهلوی) was the last Iranian royal dynasty, ruling for almost 54 years between 1925 and 1979. The dynasty was founded by Reza Shah Pahlavi, a non-aristocratic Mazanderani soldier in modern times, who ...
: Commemorative Medal of the
2500th Anniversary of the founding of the Persian Empire (14 October 1971).
References
External links
Moktar Ould Daddahon ''
Encyclopædia Britannica
The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...
''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ould Daddah, Moktar
1924 births
2003 deaths
People from Boutilimit
Leaders ousted by a coup
Mauritanian prisoners and detainees
Prisoners and detainees of Mauritania
Mauritanian exiles
Mauritanian People's Party politicians
Mauritanian Moors
Translators to French
Translators to Arabic
Flag designers
20th-century translators
Heads of government who were later imprisoned
Socialist rulers
Muslim socialists