Fatimatou Mint Abdel Malick (born 1958) is a

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, ...

n politician who has served as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Tevragh-Zeina Tevragh-Zeina is a suburb of Nouakchott and urban commune in western Mauritania. It is the capital of the Nouakchott-Ouest Region and has a population of 46,336. The current mayor is Taleb Abderrahmane Ahmed Taleb El Mahjoub. The El Irvan ...

since 2001. She was the first woman in her country to hold the position of mayor. From 2012 to 2015 she served as president of

The Network for Locally Elected Women of Africa The Network for Locally Elected Women of Africa (Réseau des Femmes Elues Locales d'Afrique, REFELA) is a network of women elected local government officials in Africa. REFELA was founded in 2011.Paulina MosesLocal chapter of Refela elected '' New E ...

(REFELA).

Early life and education

Abdel Malik was born in 1958 in Tamchakett, where her father was an administrator. She studied

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

Louvain-la-Neuve Louvain-la-Neuve (; French for "New Leuven"; ) is a planned town in the municipality of Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, Wallonia, Belgium, situated 30 km southeast of Brussels, in the province of Walloon Brabant. The town was built to house th ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

Career

Abdel Malik ran a computer services office, MINFE, 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 ...

before working as the network administrator for Habitat Bank. She then worked at the Ministry of Urban Planning and Habitat before being appointed to the

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

's Office. In 2001, Abdel Malick was asked to run for municipal office by the then

Democratic and Social Republican Party The Republican Party for Democracy and Renewal (; , PRDR) was a political party in Mauritania. Formerly known as the Democratic and Social Republican Party, (, PRDS) the party changed its identity and adjusted its political stance after the 200 ...

(PRDS), and she was elected mayor of Tevragh-Zeina, one of the nine

communes A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

of the Nouakchott Urban Community. She was the first woman to serve as a mayor in Mauritania. She has improved school education, particularly for girls, and reformed the administration. She was re-elected in 2006, 2011 and 2015. From 2012 until December 2015, Abdel Malick served as the president of the Network for Locally Elected Women of Africa. The network, formed in

Tangier Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...

in March 2011, brings together women elected in local government positions. Abdel Malick has travelled throughout Mauritania to support female candidates for office and has seen five more women join her as mayors, including

Maty Mint Hamady Maty Mint Hamady (born 1967) is a Mauritanian economist and politician who has been Mayor of Nouakchott, the capital and largest city of Mauritania, since 2014. Previously she was Minister of Public Service, Labour and Modernization of Administratio ...

. In 2023,

United Nations Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of ...

António Guterres António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres (born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat who is serving as the ninth and current secretary-general of the United Nations since 2017. A member of the Socialist Party (Portugal), ...

appointed Abdel Malick to co-chair his Advisory Group on Local and Regional Governments, alongside

Pilar Cancela Rodríguez Pilar Cancela Rodríguez (August 21, 1967, Stuttgart, Germany) is a Politics of Spain, Spanish politician who has been serving as Secretary of State for International Cooperation in the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Spain), Ministry of Fore ...

.Local and Regional Engagement, Action and Multi-Level Cooperation Are Vital to Rescue SDGs and Contribute to Topics under the Summit of Future
�

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 ...

, press release of 6 October 2023.

Awards and honours

United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * United (2003 film), ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * United (2011 film) ...

"Champion for Resilience" 2013 * Knight of Honour of the

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...

2013 *

FAO The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition ...

Medal 2015

Personal life

Abdel Malick is a single mother to three children. She is a

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Malick, Fatimatou Abdel Living people 1958 births 21st-century Mauritanian women politicians 21st-century Mauritanian politicians Mayors of places in Mauritania Women mayors of places in Mauritania Republican Party for Democracy and Renewal politicians People from Hodh El Gharbi region