Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla
محمد خونا ولد هيداله
Colonel Haidalla in 1983
4th Chairman of the Military Committee for National Salvation
In office 4 January 1980 – 12 December 1984
Preceded by	Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Louly
Succeeded by	Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya
3rd Prime Minister of Mauritania
In office 31 May 1979 – 12 December 1980
Preceded by	Ahmed Salim Ould Sidi (Acting)
Succeeded by	Sid Ahmed Ould Bneijara
In office 8 March 1984 – 12 December 1984
Preceded by	Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya
Succeeded by	Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya
Personal details
Born	1940 (age 84–85) La Güera, Spanish Sahara or Nouadhibou, French West Africa
Nationality	Mauritanian
Residence	Nouakchott
Military service
Branch/service	Mauritanian Army
Years of service	1962–1984
Rank	Colonel
Battles/wars	Western Sahara War

Colonel Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla (Arabic: محمد خونا ولد هيداله) was the leader of Mauritania from January 4, 1980, to December 12, 1984. He was the Chairman of the Military Committee for National Salvation (CMSN).

Later, he tried to become president in the 2003 and 2007 elections, but he was not successful.

Early Life and Military Career

Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla was born in 1940. He was born in the Nouadhibou region, which was either in what was then Spanish Sahara or in Mauritania. His family belonged to the Sahrawi people.

He went to high school in Rosso, near the border with Senegal. In 1961, he earned a science diploma in Dakar, Senegal. He joined the Mauritanian army in 1962. After that, he studied at French military schools, including Saint-Cyr.

After 1975, he led soldiers in northern Mauritania and Tiris al-Gharbiya (part of Western Sahara). This was during the Western Sahara War, where they fought against Polisario Front fighters. He was active in areas like Zouerate and Bir Moghrein.

In 1978, Mauritania was facing many problems. Haidalla took part in a coup d'état (a sudden overthrow of the government). This coup removed Mauritanian President Moktar Ould Daddah from power. Haidalla became a member of the CRMN military group and was promoted to Chief of the General Staff.

Leading Mauritania

Haidalla became Prime Minister on May 31, 1979. This happened shortly after the previous Prime Minister, Colonel Ahmed Ould Bouceif, died in an airplane crash. Haidalla and Bouceif had taken power for the CMSN just a month earlier.

On January 4, 1980, Haidalla took power from Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Louly, who was the head of state after Ould Salek. Haidalla also kept his role as Prime Minister until December 1980. Then, a civilian named Sid Ahmed Ould Bneijara was appointed to the position.

Haidalla's time as leader was very difficult. Mauritania was trying to end its war with the Polisario Front. His government also faced several attempts to overthrow it and military plots. On March 16, 1981, a violent attempt to remove Haidalla failed. Haidalla said Morocco was behind this attempt, but Morocco denied it. The next month, Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya became Prime Minister. There was also another attempted coup, which was said to be supported by Libya.

On March 8, 1984, Haidalla became Prime Minister again. He replaced Taya, trying to make his own power stronger.

However, on December 12, 1984, Taya removed Haidalla from power in a coup. Haidalla was out of the country at a meeting in Burundi. He found out about the coup in Brazzaville on his way back to Mauritania. He returned to Mauritania anyway and was arrested at the airport in Nouakchott. He was later set free in December 1988.

Taya promised to bring democracy to Mauritania. But many people thought his rule was too strict. He was later removed by a military coup in August 2005.

Foreign Policy Decisions

One of Haidalla's biggest achievements was making peace with the Polisario Front. This group had been fighting Mauritania since 1975. Mauritania had taken over part of the former Spanish Sahara.

Haidalla's government decided to completely leave the conflict. They pulled their troops out of southern Río de Oro (which Mauritania had called Tiris al-Gharbiyya). They also recognized the POLISARIO as the group representing the Sahrawi people.

This decision caused problems with Morocco, which had been Mauritania's ally. Morocco had also taken over the rest of Western Sahara. Haidalla's government faced a coup attempt, troop clashes, and military tension with Morocco. Relations between the two countries were completely cut off from 1981 to 1985.

However, relations improved with Algeria, which supported POLISARIO. The Algerian government sent weapons and supplies to help Haidalla's government. In 1984, Haidalla recognized the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). This is the POLISARIO's government-in-exile. This recognition seems to have been one of the reasons for Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya's coup later that year.

Domestic Policy Changes

At home, Haidalla's most important policies included bringing in Islamic Sharia law between 1980 and 1983. He also tried several times to fix the political system. This system had been broken by the 1978 coup. First, he tried a system with many political parties. Then, after the first coup attempt against him, he tried a one-party system.

It was also during Haidalla's rule that slavery was officially and fully ended in Mauritania. Although it still happens in a smaller way today. He announced the end of slavery in July 1980. A legal order followed in November 1981.

Political opponents were treated harshly. Some were put in prison. Those who were responsible for one of the failed coups against his government were executed.

Life After Losing Power

After returning to Mauritania in late 1984, Haidalla was held in prison by Ould Taya for several years. He became sick during this time. After his release, he stayed out of politics until 2003. Then, he returned to lead the opposition.

He ran for president against Taya in November 2003 but lost. He campaigned on a platform that was somewhat Islamist. Taya, who had made full diplomatic ties with Israel, was seen as pro-Western. Haidalla officially came in second place with about 19% of the votes. However, he claimed there was fraud. He was arrested right after the election, accused of trying to overthrow the government. Haidalla had also been briefly held just before the vote.

On December 28, 2003, he received a five-year suspended sentence. This meant he was set free but could not be involved in politics for five years. An appeals court confirmed this sentence in April 2004. Also in April, his supporters tried to register a political party called the Party for Democratic Convergence.

Haidalla was arrested again on November 3, 2004. He was accused of being involved in new coup plots. The prosecutor wanted a five-year prison sentence for him. But he was found not guilty on February 3, 2005. This was at the end of a large trial involving 195 people.

After the 2005 Coup

In August 2005, there was a military coup against Taya. An amnesty in early September freed Haidalla from his sentence. More than a hundred other people who had been sentenced for political reasons were also freed.

On December 27, 2006, Haidalla announced he would be a candidate in the presidential election on March 11, 2007. He campaigned on a nationalist-Islamist platform. He said fighting poverty and slavery were his main goals. On February 3, he gained the support of another presidential candidate, Chbih Ould Cheikh Melainine, who then left the race.

However, Haidalla was less successful in the 2007 election. He no longer had the strong political support he had when he was the main opposition candidate under Ould Taya. He came in tenth place, getting only 1.73% of the votes.

After the election, which was won by Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, Haidalla announced his support for Abdallahi in October 2007. However, after the coup that removed Abdallahi in August 2008, Haidalla supported the coup. On August 29, 2008, he said it was necessary and urged all Mauritanians to support it. He also criticized other countries for reacting negatively to the coup. He said they were getting involved in Mauritanian affairs.

In 2008, he was judged and sentenced to 7 years in prison.

On June 18, 2010, Haidalla wrote an open letter. It was sent to leaders of countries who had good relations with the king of Morocco. He asked for help to bring his son back to Mauritania or to free him. He spoke about the difficult prison conditions for his son, who has a disability. On June 24, 2010, El Ghassem Uld Bellali, a Mauritanian politician, said that his son's imprisonment was Morocco's "political revenge." This was because Haidalla had recognized the SADR and the right of self-determination for the Sahrawi people when he was president.

See also

In Spanish: Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla para niños