Moktar Ould Daddah

Moktar Ould Daddah
مختار ولد داداه
Ould Daddah in 1960
1st President of Mauritania
In office 28 November 1960 – 10 July 1978
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Mustafa Ould Salek
1st Prime Minister of Mauritania
In office 21 May 1957 – 20 August 1961
President	Himself
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Office abolished (eventually Ahmed Ould Bouceif as Prime Minister in 1979)
Personal details
Born	25 December 1924 Boutilimit, French Mauritania, French West Africa
Died	14 October 2003(2003-10-14) (aged 78) Paris, France
Nationality	Mauritanian
Political party	Mauritanian People's Party
Relations	Ahmed 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 from France. Daddah served as the country's first Prime Minister from 1957 to 1961 and as its first President of Mauritania, a position he held from 1960 until he was deposed in a military coup d'etat in 1978.^[1]

He established a one-party state, with his Mauritanian People's Party being the sole legal political entity in the country, and followed a policy of "Islamic socialism" with many nationalizations of private businesses. In his memoirs, Daddah expressed concern that the issue of slavery in Mauritania could lead to armed conflict that would ultimately destroy the country.^[2]

In foreign affairs, he joined the Non-Aligned Movement and maintained strong links with Mao Zedong and the People's Republic of China, but he also accepted Western (especially French) foreign aid.^[3] During his presidency, Mauritania saw conflict with the Polisario Front in Western Sahara after working to broker a deal to divide the territory with Morocco.^[4][5]