1979 Mauritanian coup d'état

1979 Mauritanian coup d'état

A CIA WFB map of Mauritania
Date	6 April 1979
Location	Nouakchott, Mauritania
Type	Military coup
Motive	Regime change
Target	Presidential Palace, Nouakchott
Organised by	Ahmed Ould Bouceif Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla
Participants	Faction within the Armed Forces
Outcome	Coup succeeds Dismissal of the CMRN. Formation of the CMSN. Resignation of Mustafa Ould Salek. Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Louly assumed the presidency of the CMSN. Bouceif assumed the premiership, to be succeeded by Haidalla on his death.

The 1979 Mauritanian coup d'état was a military coup in Mauritania which took place on 6 April 1979.^[1] The coup was led by Colonel Ahmed Ould Bouceif and Colonel Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla, who seized power from the President, Colonel Mustafa Ould Salek, and the 20-member ruling Military Committee for National Recovery (CMRN), a military junta which was created following an earlier coup in 1978.

The coup resulted in the dismissal of the CMRN and the formation of the 24-member Military Committee for National Salvation (CMSN), a new junta initially under the presidency of Salek as a figurehead, until his official resignation on 3 June.^[2][3] He was succeeded by Lieutenant-Colonel Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Louly.^[2] Bouceif was appointed prime minister, and served until his death in an airplane crash in Senegal on 27 May.^[4] He was succeeded by Haidalla on 31 May.^[5]

References

1. Robert E. Handloff. "DOWNFALL OF OULD SALEK". Mauritania: A Country Study. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
2. "Mauritanian President Resigns 11 Months After Coup". The New York Times. 4 June 1979. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
3. "Mauritanian President Quits". Washington Post. 22 December 2023. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
4. "The Death of Mauritania's Prime Minister Last Week Added Uncertainty". The New York Times. 3 June 1979. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
5. "Mauritania: The Haidalla Regime", Library of Congress Country Studies