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Moktar Ould Daddah

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This article is about a person whose name includes apatronymic.The article properly refers to the person by their given name, Moktar, and not as Ould Daddah.
Moktar Ould Daddah
مختار ولد داداه
Ould Daddah in 1960
1stPresident of Mauritania
In office
28 November 1960 – 10 July 1978
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byMustafa Ould Salek
1stPrime Minister of Mauritania
In office
21 May 1957 – 20 August 1961
PresidentHimself
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byOffice abolished
(eventuallyAhmed Ould Bouceifas Prime Minister in 1979)
Personal details
Born25 December 1924
Boutilimit,French Mauritania,French West Africa
Died14 October 2003(2003-10-14)(aged 78)
Paris, France
NationalityMauritanian
Political partyMauritanian People's Party
RelationsAhmed Ould Daddah
(half-brother)

Moktar Ould Daddah(Arabic:مختار ولد داداه,romanized:Mukhtār Wald Dāddāh;December 25, 1924 – October 14, 2003) was a Mauritanian politician who led the country after it gained its independence fromFrance.Moktar served as the country's firstPrime Ministerfrom 1957 to 1961 and as its firstPresident of Mauritania,a position he held from 1960 until he was deposed in a militarycoup d'etatin 1978.[1]

He established aone-party state,with hisMauritanian People's Partybeing the sole legal political entity in the country, and followed a policy of "Islamic socialism"with manynationalizationsof private businesses. In his memoirs, Moktar expressed concern that the issue ofslavery in Mauritaniacould lead to armed conflict that would ultimately destroy the country.[2]

In foreign affairs, he joined theNon-Aligned Movementand maintained strong links withMao Zedongand thePeople's Republic of China,but he also accepted Western (especiallyFrench) foreign aid.[3]During his presidency, Mauritania saw conflict with thePolisario FrontinWestern Saharaafter working to broker a deal to divide the territory withMorocco.[4][5]

Background[edit]

Moktar was born to an importantmaraboutfamily of theOuled Birritribe inBoutilimit,Mauritania,French West Africa.After attending elite Islamic academies, he worked for the French colonial administrators as a translator.[6]

As a law student inParis,he graduated as the first Mauritanian to hold a University Degree. He was later admitted to the bar atDakar,Senegalin 1955. Upon his return to Mauritania in the late 1950s, Moktar joined the centre-leftMauritanian Progressive Union,and was elected President of its Executive Council. In 1959, however, he established a new political party, theMauritanian Regroupment Party.In the last pre-independence legislative elections held later that year, his party won every seat in theNational Assembly,and he was appointedPrime Minister.

He was known for his ability to establish aconsensusamong different political parties, as well as between theWhite Moors,Black MoorsandBlack Africans,Mauritania's three mainethnicgroups.[7]The balanced representation of different ethnic and political groups in his government won the confidence of the French authorities, who grantedindependenceto Mauritania under his leadership in 1960. Moktar was named Acting President of the new Islamic Republic, and was confirmed in office in the first post-independence election in August 1961.

President of Mauritania (1960–1978)[edit]

As President, Moktar 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 theMauritanian People's Party(PPM), which became thesole legal party.He formalized the one-party state in 1964 with a newConstitution,which set up anauthoritarianpresidential regime. Moktar justified this decision on the grounds that he considered Mauritania unready for western-stylemulti-party democracy.

Under this one-party constitution, Moktar was reelected in uncontested elections in1966,1971and1976.

President Moktar withMao Zedongin 1968

In 1971, Moktar served as President of theOrganization of African Unity(OAU). At home, however, his policies were criticized. The economy remained strongly dependent on Chinese and Frenchforeign aid.Moreover, drought in theSahel,principally in the period between 1969 and 1974, and a decline in export revenues due to fall in international prices ofiron,had loweredliving standardsconsiderably. In 1975, he presented a charter which called for Mauritania to become an "Islamic,nationalist,centralist,andsocialistdemocracy."This charter was initially popular, and theopposition,in general, welcomed it.

War in Western Sahara[edit]

What brought an end to Moktar'sregimewas Mauritania's war inWestern Saharaagainst thePolisario Front,anindigenousmovement fighting against theMoroccan-Mauritanian attempt to jointlyannexthe territory,starting in 1975.Moktar had claimed the territory as part ofGreater Mauritaniasince 1957, three years before independence, but the idea had only limited support in the general population. The MauritanianMoorsare closely related to theSahrawis,and virtually all northerntribeshad members on both sides of the (former) frontier, many of whom sympathized with the Polisario's demands for independence.

Moktar and Romanian leaderNicolae Ceaucescuin 1977

In addition to the government's support forguerrillasin northern Mauritania, several thousand Mauritanians left the country to join the Polisario in itsTindoufcamps. Further dissatisfaction arose in the South, from where Black troops were sent to fight what they regarded as an essentially inter-Arabconflict, and one which could, if successful, entrench Moktar's discriminatory rule even further by the addition of several thousand new Moorish citizens. But Moktar additionally sought the territory in order to prevent it from falling into Moroccan hands, still wary of the officially defunctMoroccan territorial demandson Mauritania.

Following theMadrid Accordswith Spain, Mauritania annexed a southern portion of the territory, renaming itTiris al-Gharbiya.[8]However, the small and poorly trained Mauritanian Army failed to stop the guerilla incursions, despite backing from theFrench Air Force.Polisario then turned to attacking the ironminesinZouerate,at which point the country'seconomystarted backsliding, and Moktar's public support tumbled. In 1976, the capitalNouakchottwas attacked by the Polisario Front, and Moktar was forced to appoint a military officer to head the Ministry of defense.

Downfall and later life[edit]

On 10 July 1978,Lt. Col.Mustafa Ould Salekoverthrew Moktar in amilitary coup,and installeda juntato rule the country in his place. Hissuccessorswould surrender Mauritania's claims to Western Sahara and completely withdraw from the war the following year (August 1979).[9]

After a period of imprisonment, Moktar was allowed to go intoexileinFrancein August 1979, where he organized an opposition group, theAlliance pour une Mauritanie Democratique(AMD) in 1980. Attempts to overthrow the regime from abroad were unsuccessful. Moktar was allowed to return to Mauritania on 17 July 2001,[10][11]but died soon after at a military hospital, following a long illness, inParis, Franceon 14 October 2003. His body was subsequently flown back to Mauritania, where it is buried.[12]

Honours[edit]

Foreign honours[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^Koven, Ronald (1978-07-11)."Mauritanian President Overthrown in Military Coup".Washington Post.ISSN0190-8286.Retrieved2024-01-31.
  2. ^"Mauritania Struggles to Address Legacy of Slavery | علّية عباس".السفير العربي.2013-07-03.Retrieved2022-09-03.
  3. ^Jeremy Friedman, Shadow Cold War: The Sino-Soviet Competition for the Third World, 2015, p. 166
  4. ^"Moktar Ould Daddah, 78; Led Mauritania to Independence in 1961".The New York Times.Agence France-Presse. 2003-10-16.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved2022-09-03.
  5. ^"Aux termes de l'accord conclu entre Madrid, Rabat et Nouakchott La présence espagnole prendra fin le 28 février 1976".Le Monde.fr(in French). 1975-11-17.Retrieved2024-01-31.
  6. ^Fredriksen, John C. (2005).Biographical Dictionary of Modern World Leaders.Facts on File. p. 112.ISBN978-0816060368.
  7. ^Cahoon, Ben M."Mauritania".World Statesmen.org.
  8. ^"Le Maroc et la Mauritanie délimitent leur frontière au Sahara occidental".Le Monde.fr(in French). 1976-04-16.Retrieved2024-01-31.
  9. ^Branigin, William (1979-08-07)."Mauritania Ends Role in Sahara War".Washington Post.ISSN0190-8286.Retrieved2024-01-31.
  10. ^"Ousted Mauritanian president due home from 23 years in exile".Agence France Presse,17 July 2001.
  11. ^"- Mauritanie - Retour de l'ancien président - Ould Daddah après 23 ans d'exil".L'Orient Le Jour(in French) (published 2001). July 18, 2001.
  12. ^"Mauritania lays president to rest".BBC News.18 October 2003.
  13. ^"Tito i Dadah počeli službene razgovore".Slobodna Dalmacija(7315): 1. 6 September 1968.
  14. ^"Grand State Banquet".Archived fromthe originalon March 2, 2004.

External links[edit]

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