Ely Ould Mohamed Vall
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Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...
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 until 19 April 2007, when he relinquished power to an elected government.


Life and career

Born 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 ...
in 1953, Ely Ould Mohamed Vall was a long-time ally of President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya, and participated in the December 1984 coup that brought Ould Taya himself to power. Prior to the 2005 coup, he had been Director of the national police force, the '' Sûreté Nationale'', since 1987. On 3 August 2005, Ould Taya was ousted in a bloodless military coup while he was out of the country."Army seizes power to end "totalitarian regime""
IRIN, August 3, 2005.
A group of officers took power as the Military Council for Justice and Democracy and announced that Ely was the Chairman of the council."New military rulers face worldwide condemnation"
IRIN, August 4, 2005.
He did not take the title of President because he said it should be reserved for elected leaders.Heidi Vogt

Associated Press (''The Washington Post''), April 23, 2006.
The new regime, condemning Ould Taya's government as "totalitarian", promised to lead the country to elections and the restoration of civilian rule within two years; a referendum on a new constitution was planned to be held within a year, and parliamentary and presidential elections would follow. Ely and the other members of the military council agreed not to run for president.Hademine Ould Sadi
"Mauritania's new junta keeps on winning friends"
, Middle East Online, August 8, 2005.
The coup was welcomed by a part of the population, but outside the country there was sharp condemnation. The
African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The b ...
(which suspended Mauritania's membership), the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
,
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
Secretary General
Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder a ...
, and the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
all condemned the coup. However, this opposition weakened after several days, and the regime appeared to win tacit international acceptance. Ely maintained Mauritania's diplomatic relationship with
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
. Mauritania and Israel initiated full diplomatic relations in 1999 under Taya, a decision which contributed to the latter's unpopularity. After the coup, Ahmed Ould Sid'Ahmed, who had been Foreign Minister at the time diplomatic relations were established, was reappointed to the position. The constitutional referendum was held on June 25, 2006, and approved by 97% of voters. The 2006 constitution limits presidents to two five-year terms (under Taya, presidential terms had lasted six years and there was no limit on re-election) and requires a president to swear not to change the term limits (several other African countries have seen term limits removed from their constitutions so that presidents could continue to run for re-election). Ely toured the country beforehand to promote it and called it a "historical opportunity". Parliamentary and local elections were held on November 19, 2006, which Ely praised as "the first time Mauritanians have been able to express themselves freely"; he also said that the difficulty of changing the constitution would preserve democracy in the future. Ely announced that he would step down after the March 2007 presidential election. The election was ultimately won by Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi in the second round of voting. Abdallahi's opponents alleged that his candidacy was supported by Ely's regime."Mauritania has a new president"
AFP (''IOL''), March 26, 2007.
Prior to the handover, Mauritania was allowed back into the African Union on April 10. On April 19, Abdallahi officially took office, completing the transition to civilian democratic rule. The military under General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz seized power again in August 2008, ousting Abdallahi, and a new presidential election was planned. Ely announced on 6 June 2009 that he would be a candidate, running as an independent. He condemned the 2008 coup, asserting that it was "wrong and there was no reason for it" and that it had "provoked a particularly dangerous situation in our country". He stressed, however, that his candidacy was not directed against any particular individual, and he said that his goal, if elected, was "to build a reconciled country that is politically and economically viable and stable". He also said that he would "probably no longer be interested in public affairs" if not for the 2008 coup. Official results showed Ely performing poorly in the election, which was held on 18 July 2009, while Abdel Aziz won a majority in the first round. At a press conference on 30 July, Ely said that the election was merely a means of legitimizing the 2008 coup and that it had effectively reverted the country to the authoritarianism it had experienced under President Taya. He also said that he would continue to struggle against Abdel Aziz's regime. Ely was a board member of the Arab Democracy Foundation. He was also a member of the Fondation Chirac's honor committee, ever since the foundation was launched in 2008 by former French president
Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, ; ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988, as well as Mayor of Pari ...
in order to promote world peace. Ely died of a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
on 5 May 2017 at
Zouérat Zouérat () is the largest town in northern Mauritania and the capital of the Tiris Zemmour region, with an approximate population of 62,380 (2023). It lies at the eastern end of the Mauritania Railway to Nouadhibou. History The town devel ...
."Mauritanie : l’ex-président Ely Ould Mohamed Vall est mort"
''Jeune Afrique'', 5 May 2017 .


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vall, Ely Ould Mohamed 1953 births 2017 deaths People from Nouakchott Leaders who took power by coup Heads of state of Mauritania