Saleh Ould Hanenna (born on September 20, 1965) is a former

Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...

and political figure. Saleh Ould Hanenna served in the Mauritanian Army and rose to the rank of

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

before being officially dismissed in 2000. In June 2003, he led an attempted coup, aiming to overthrow

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya. He commanded a rebel section of the Army during two days of heavy fighting in

Nouakchott Nouakchott ( ) is the capital and largest city of Mauritania. Located in the southwestern part of the country, it is one of the largest cities in the Sahara. The city also serves as the administrative and economic center of Mauritania. Once a ...

which caused the death of dozens of people. With the complete failure of the coup, Ould Hanenna initially escaped capture, and formed an opposition group called the "Knights of Change" with former officer Mohamed Ould Cheikhna, but he was captured and arrested on October 9, 2004."MAURITANIA: Government arrests mastermind behind coup plots"
IRIN Africa, October 12, 2004. The Government of Mauritania accused Saleh Ould Hanenna of attempting to organize coups on two further occasions, in August and September 2004, with the alleged backing of

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

and

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

. A

death sentence Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

was initially recommended at his subsequent trial, but he was instead given

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life impr ...

at the conclusion of the trial on February 3, 2005. In August 2005, Colonel

Ely Ould Mohamed Vall Colonel Ely Ould Mohamed Vall ( ''I‘lī Wald Muḥammad Fāl''; 1953 – 5 May 2017) was a Mauritanian political and military figure. Following a coup d'état in August 2005, he served as the transitional military leader of Mauritania unti ...

led a successful coup in the country that ousted

Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya. The Military Council for Justice and Democracy (CMJD) which subsequently took charge of the government released Ould Hanenna in a general

amnesty Amnesty () is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power officially forgiving certain classes of people who are subject to trial but have not yet be ...

in early September. On January 9, 2007, Ould Hanenna, the president of the Mauritanian Union for Change (HATEM), was unanimously chosen by that party's executive committee as its candidate in the March 2007 presidential election. He took sixth position in the poll, with 7.65% of the votes cast, and subsequently backed Ahmed Ould Daddah for the second round. Ould Hanenna served as President of the Coordination of Democratic Opposition, a political coalition made up of parties opposed to General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz led government in

.Mauritania Opposition Demands Election After President Is Shot
Bloomberg Business Week, November 2, 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanenna, Saleh Ould 1965 births Living people Attempted coups d'état in Mauritania Conflicts in 2003 Mauritanian military personnel Mauritanian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Mauritania Mauritanian Party of Union and Change politicians