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Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office April 19, 2007 |
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| Preceded by | Ely Ould Mohamed Vall |
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| Born | 1938 Aleg, Brakna Region |
| Nationality | Mauritanian |
| Political party | Independent |
Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi (Arabic: سيدى محمد ولد الشيخ عبد الله) (born 1938[1]) is a Mauritanian politician. He won the March 2007 presidential election and took office on 19 April 2007.[2]
Abdallahi was born in the town of Aleg in southern Mauritania, about 250 kilometers from the capital Nouakchott. He studied mathematics, physics, and chemistry in Dakar, Senegal and received a diplôme d'études approfondies in economics in Grenoble, France.[3]
Abdallahi served as a minister under Moktar Ould Daddah from 1971 to 1978. During this period, he held the position of minister of state for the national economy and was involved in the nationalization of the iron mines and the introduction of the ouguiya as the nation's currency. After the ouster of Daddah in July 1978, Abdallahi was imprisoned until 1979.[4]
From 1982 to 1985 Abdallahi lived in Kuwait where he worked as an adviser to the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development.[3][5]
After returning to Mauritania, he served under Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya from 1986 to 1987, first as Minister of Hydraulics, then as Minister of Fishing. Taya then had Abdallahi imprisoned for alleged corruption while serving as Minister of Fishing.[4]
From 1989 until 2003 he lived in Niger, working again as an adviser to the Kuwait Fund.[5]
Abdallahi announced his candidacy for president on July 4, 2006.[1] He ran as an independent[4][6] and was viewed by some as the candidate representing or being a "puppet" of the ruling Military Council for Justice and Democracy, which planned to hand over power to the winner of the election, although Abdallahi denied this.[7] The Coalition of Forces for Democratic Change, which won a large portion of the seats in parliament in the 2006 parliamentary election, sent a letter to various international organizations, including the African Union, accusing the junta of "running an open campaign in favour of one candidate" through various methods, including asking influential people in the country to back their favored candidate, although the letter did not directly name Abdallahi as this candidate.[8]
In the first round of the election, held on March 11, 2007, Abdallahi took first place with 24.80% of the vote.[9] A second round was therefore planned for March 25 between Abdallahi and the second place candidate, Ahmed Ould Daddah.[10] On March 17, the third place candidate, Zeine Ould Zeidane, announced his support for Abdallahi in the second round.[11] Fourth place candidate Messaoud Ould Boulkheir also announced his support for Abdallahi on March 19.[12]
Following the second round of polling, interior minister Mohamed Ahmed Ould Mohamed Lemine declared Abdallahi the winner on March 26, saying that he won 52.85% of the vote.[13] Abdallahi won 10 out of the country's 13 regions.[14] He took office on April 19[2] and named Zeidane as prime minister on the next day.[15]
After the government announced a 112 million USD budget deficit, mostly due to shortfalls in oil exports due to technical problems, a 25% pay cut in the salaries of Abdallahi and the members of the government was announced on June 7, 2007.[16]
Abdallahi addressed the nation on June 29 for the first time since taking office. In this speech, he referred to the "dark years" of 1989–91, condemning the violence of that time, expressing compassion for its victims, and emphasizing the importance of tolerance and reconciliation. He said that "the State will entirely assume its responsibility to ensure the return" of Mauritanian refugees and promised that they could all "benefit from a reintegration programme in their native lands with the support of the HCR, the Mauritanian state, united national effort and the cooperation of our development partners." He also mentioned an anti-slavery bill approved by the government.[17]
There are currently plans by Abdallahi's supporters to create a new party to back him; the opposition criticizes this as potentially meaning a return to a single-party dominant system, as existed under Taya.[18]
On September 26, 2007, while Abdallahi was at the United Nations in New York City, he met with a delegation of the Forces of African Liberation of Mauritania (FLAM), a movement seeking the improvement of the conditions of black Mauritanians; this marked the first time since FLAM was banned in 1986 that a Mauritanian head of state had met with it.[19]
- ^ a b "Bio express", Jeuneafrique.com, February 25, 2007.
- ^ a b "Mauritania swears in new president", Al Jazeera, April 19, 2007.
- ^ a b "Biographie", sidioca.com, accessed March 27, 2007.
- ^ a b c "Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdellahi, ancien ministre de Ould Daddah et de Ould Taya", African Press Agency, February 25, 2007 (French).
- ^ a b Christophe Ayad, "La Mauritanie choisit l'homme du consensus", Libération, March 27, 2007.
- ^ "Mauritania candidate gets boost", BBC News, January 30, 2007.
- ^ "Mauritanian presidential hopeful denies connivance with military junta", African Press Agency, February 1, 2007.
- ^ "AU asked to monitor Mauritania poll", Al Jazeera, January 7, 2007.
- ^ "Le conseil constitutionnel proclame les résultats du premier tour de l'élection présidentielles du 11 mars 2007", Agence Mauritanienne d'Information, March 15, 2007 (French).
- ^ "No clear winner after elections in Mauritania", Reuters (IOL), March 13, 2007.
- ^ Ibrahima Sylla, "Abdallahi receives boost ahead of polls", Reuters (IOL), March 19, 2007.
- ^ "Debate between Mauritanian presidential candidates to be held on Friday", Maghrebia.com, March 20, 2007.
- ^ "Mauritania has a new president", AFP (IOL), March 26, 2007.
- ^ Map of election results.
- ^ "Mauritanie: Zeine Ould Zeidane nommé Premier ministre", AFP (Jeuneafrique.com), April 20, 2007 (French).
- ^ "Mauritania president takes pay cut", Al Jazeera, June 7, 2007.
- ^ "Le Président de la République s'adresse à la Nation", Agence Mauritanienne d'Information, June 29, 2007 (French).
- ^ "Débat sur la création d'un parti présidentiel en Mauritanie", Panapress (Jeuneafrique.com), September 16, 2007 (French).
- ^ "Mauritanie: les FLAM rencontrent le président, une première depuis 1986", AFP (Jeuneafrique.com), September 27, 2007 (French).
| Preceded by Ely Ould Mohamed Vall |
President of Mauritania 2007– |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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| Daddah • Salek† • Louly† • Haidalla† • Taya • Vall† • Abdallahi † military |
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