Mohamed Ould Cheikh Mohamed Ahmed Ould Ghazouani ( ar, محمد ولد الشيخ محمد أحمد ولد الغزواني; born 4 December 1956), also known as Ghazouani and Ould Ghazouani, is a Mauritanian politician and retired Mauritanian Army general who is the 9th

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 ...

, having assumed office on 1 August 2019. He is a former General Director of National Security and former Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of Mauritania (2008–2018). He was Defence Minister for Mauritania from October 2018 to March 2019. A close ally of his predecessor

Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz ( ar, محمد ولد عبد العزيز ''Muḥammad Wald 'Abd al-'Azīz''; born 20 December 1956) is a former Mauritanian politician who was the 8th List of heads of state of Mauritania, President of Mauritania, in of ...

, Ghazouani was elected as President of Mauritania on 22 June 2019 following the

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...

. Mohamed Ould Ghazouani's victory in the 2019 Mauritanian presidential election was presented as having been the country's first

peaceful transition of power A peaceful transition or transfer of power is a concept important to democratic governments in which the leadership of a government peacefully hands over control of government to a newly-elected leadership. This may be after elections or during t ...

since independence.

Personal life

Ghazouani was born in Boumdeid,

Assaba region Assaba ( ar, ولاية العصابة) is a Regions of Mauritania, region in southern Mauritania, covering an area of 36,600 square km. It had a population of 325,897 at the 2013 Census. Its capital is Kiffa, Kifa. Other major cities/towns inclu ...

on 4 December 1956. He belongs to a well-known

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

Berber family in Mauritania. Ghazouani is the son of a spiritual leader of the Maraboutic tribe Ideiboussat. Ghazouani has memorised the Quran. He is married to a doctor, Mariam Mint Mohamed Vadel Ould Dah. They have five children, from whom Mohamed Lemine Ould Cheikh El-Ghazouani is the eldest son.

Career

Military career

He joined the Mauritanian Army in the late 1970s. He continued his training as an officer in

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 ...

. He received a

baccalaureate Baccalaureate may refer to: * ''Baccalauréat'', a French national academic qualification * Bachelor's degree, or baccalaureate, an undergraduate academic degree * English Baccalaureate, a performance measure to assess secondary schools in England ...

degree, a master's degree in Administration and Military Sciences, and completed several war training certificates and courses. Ghazouani was aide-de-camp to President

Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya ( ar, معاوية ولد سيد أحمد الطايع, Ma‘āwiyah wuld Sīdi Aḥmad aṭ-Ṭāya‘ / Mu'awiya walad Sayyidi Ahmad Taya; born 28 November 1941) is a Mauritanian military officer who served as the P ...

from 1987 to 1991. Ghazouani was an ally of former President

, and was his partner in the overthrow of President

Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi ( ar, سيدي محمد ولد الشيخ عبد الله‎; 193822 November 2020) was a Mauritanian politician who was President of Mauritania from 2007 to 2008. He served in the government during the 1970s ...

in 2008, and was a member of the military junta that ousted former President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya In 2005.

Political career

In October 2018, President

named him as defence minister of Mauritania. On 1 March 2019, Ghazouani announced his candidacy for the presidency, seeking to replace President

. On 15 March he resigned as defence minister to pursue his presidential ambition. On 22 June 2019, he became Mauritania's elected president after a

against five candidates in a race to the " gray palace". On 1 August 2019, he was sworn in as the 9th President of Mauritania.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ghazouani, Mohamed Ould 1956 births Living people People from Assaba Region Presidents of Mauritania Defence ministers of Mauritania Mauritanian military personnel Mauritanian Sufis Union for the Republic (Mauritania) politicians 20th-century Mauritian people 21st-century Mauritanian politicians