List of heads of state of Mauritania

President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania
رئيس الجمهورية الإسلامية الموريتانية Président la République islamique de Mauritanie
Seal of Mauritania
Incumbent Mohamed Ould Ghazouani since 1 August 2019
Residence	Presidential Palace, Nouakchott
Term length	5 years, renewable once
Inaugural holder	Moktar Ould Daddah
Formation	20 August 1961
Salary	800,000 USD annually

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 eight people have served as head of state of Mauritania (not counting one Acting President). Additionally, one person, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, has served on two non-consecutive occasions.

The current head of state of Mauritania is the President of the Republic Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, since 1 August 2019.

Titles

• 1960–1961: Acting Head of State
• 1961–1978: President of the Islamic Republic
• 1978–1979: Chairman of the Military Committee for National Recovery
• 1979: Head of State and Chairman of the Military Committee for National Recovery
• 1979–1992: Head of State and Chairman of the Military Committee for National Salvation
• 1992–2005: President of the Islamic Republic
• 2005–2007: Chairman of the Military Council for Justice and Democracy
• 2007–2008: President of the Islamic Republic
• 2008–2009: President of the High Council of State
• 2009–present: President of the Islamic Republic

Key

Political parties

•   Mauritanian Regroupment Party (PRM) / Mauritanian People's Party (PPM)
•   Democratic and Social Republican Party (PRDS)
•   Union for the Republic (UPR)

Other factions

•   Military
•   Independent

Status

•   Acting President

List of officeholders

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Elected	Term of office			Political party	Prime minister(s)
				Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Moktar Ould Daddah (1924–2003)	1961 1966 1971 1976	28 November 1960	10 July 1978 (deposed.)	17 years, 224 days	PRM / PPM	Himself
style="background:Template:Military rule/meta/color; color:black;"| 2		Mustafa Ould Salek (1936–2012)	—	10 July 1978	3 June 1979 (resigned.)	328 days	Military	Bouceif Sidi Haidalla
style="background:Template:Military rule/meta/color; color:black;"| 3		Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Louly (1943–2019)	—	3 June 1979	4 January 1980 (deposed.)	215 days	Military	Haidalla
style="background:Template:Military rule/meta/color; color:black;"| 4		Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla (1940–)	—	4 January 1980	12 December 1984 (deposed.)	4 years, 343 days	Military	Himself Bneijara Taya Himself
style="background:Template:Republican Party for Democracy and Renewal/meta/color; color:white;"| 5		Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya (1941–)	1992 1997 2003	12 December 1984	3 August 2005 (deposed.)	20 years, 234 days	Military / PRDS	Himself Boubacar Khouna Guig Khouna M'Bareck
style="background:Template:Military rule/meta/color; color:black;"| 6		Ely Ould Mohamed Vall (1953–2017)	—	3 August 2005	19 April 2007	1 year, 259 days	Military (Sûreté Nationale)	Boubacar
style="background:Template:Independent politician/meta/color; color:black;"| 7		Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi (1938–2020)	2007	19 April 2007	6 August 2008 (deposed.)	1 year, 109 days	Independent	Zeidane Waghef
style="background:Template:Military rule/meta/color; color:black;"| 8		Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz (1956–)	—	6 August 2008	15 April 2009	252 days	Military	Laghdaf
style="background:Template:Independent politician/meta/color; color:black;"| –		Ba Mamadou Mbaré (1946–2013)	—	15 April 2009	5 August 2009	112 days	Independent	Laghdaf
style="background:Template:Union for the Republic (Mauritania)/meta/color; color:white;"| (8)		Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz (1956–)	2009 2014	5 August 2009	1 August 2019	9 years, 361 days	UPR	Laghdaf Hademine Béchir
style="background:Template:Union for the Republic (Mauritania)/meta/color; color:white;"| 9		Mohamed Ould Ghazouani (1956–)	2019	1 August 2019	Incumbent	4 years, 322 days	UPR	Béchir Sidiya Bilal

Latest election

Main article: 2019 Mauritanian presidential election

Candidate	Party	Votes	%
Mohamed Ould Ghazouani	Union for the Republic	483,312	52.01
Biram Dah Abeid	Independent	172,656	18.58
Sidi Mohamed Ould Boubacar	Independent	166,058	17.87
Kane Hamidou Baba	Independent	80,916	8.71
Mohamed Ould Mouloud	Rally of Democratic Forces	22,695	2.44
Mohamed Lemine al-Mourtaji al-Wafi	Independent	3,676	0.40
Invalid/blank votes		38,284	–
Total		967,594	100
Registered voters/turnout		1,544,132	62.66
Source: CENI

See also

• Mauritania
  • List of prime ministers of Mauritania
  • List of colonial governors of Mauritania
  • Politics of Mauritania
• Lists of office-holders

External links

• World Statesmen – Mauritania