Ely Ould Mohamed Vall

Ely Ould Mohamed Vall ( Arabic إعلي ولد محمد فال, DMG Iʿlī walad Muḥammad Fāl ; * 1953 in Nouakchott ; † May 5, 2017 in Zouérat , Mauritania ) was chairman of the military council for justice and democracy of the junta of 16 officers that ruled Mauritania after the military coup of August 3, 2005 and thus head of state of the country. His official address was Colonel Ely Ould Mohamed Vall, Président du Conseil Militaire pour la Justice et la Démocratie, chef de l'Etat. ( French for "Colonel Ely Ould Mohamed Vall, Chairman of the Military Council for Justice and Democracy, Head of State").

Life

Ely Ould Mohamed Vall comes from a family from the country's Moorish upper class. He received military training in neighboring Morocco and spent a long time in the north of Mauritania in the fight against the warriors of independence of the Polisario Front of the former Spanish colony of the Spanish Sahara .

Before the coup, he held the influential post of security chief in the country (since 1987) and was for a long time a close confidante of President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya , whom he supported in the 1984 coup. His overthrow, which was welcomed in Mauritania, found little support in the international world (the previous regime was regarded as a reliable supporter of the USA and was one of only a few countries in the Arab world to recognize Israel). Mauritania's membership in the African Union was temporarily suspended. During his reign he carried out a constitutional reform aimed at a democratic orientation of the country. For this purpose, the number of terms of office of a president was limited to two. He also managed to stabilize and stimulate the economy of his home country, which is one of the poorest in the world, through reforms. Attempts have also been made to achieve extensive judicial independence.

As promised by him, the first free presidential elections since Mauritania gained independence took place on March 11, 2007, and the military junta did not nominate a candidate. On April 10, 2007, Mauritania's suspension was lifted by the African Union . On April 19, 2007, he handed over the presidency to Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Norbert: Mauritanie: décès de l'ancien président mauritanien Ely Ould Mohamed Vall (2005-2007). In: french.china.org.cn. China Internet Information Center, May 5, 2017, accessed May 6, 2017 (French).