Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya (; born 28 November 1941) is a Mauritanian military officer who served as the president of Mauritania from 1984 to 2005. During his presidency, he pursued policies of Arab nationalism while deepening ties with the United States.
Having come to power through a bloodless military coup, he was ousted by a military coup himself in 2005. Prior to his presidency, he was the fifth prime minister of Mauritania between 1981 and 1992 (except for a brief period in 1984).
Early years
Born in the town of Atar (Adrar Region), Ould Taya attended a Franco-Arabic Primary School from 1949 to 1955. He then attended Rosso High School in southern Mauritania. After graduation, he attended a French military school in 1960 and graduated as an officer the next year. In 1975, he received strategic training at the French War Academy. In 1978, the Mauritanian army seized power and ousted President Moktar Ould Daddah, in an attempt to forestall government collapse in the war over Western Sahara against the Polisario Front (1975–79). Ould Taya was among the conspirators, and quickly gained influence within the government.
President of Mauritania (1984–2005) After holding various positions in the military, Ould Taya was appointed Chief of Staff of the Army in January 1981, during the rule of military head of state Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla. In the aftermath of a failed coup against Ould Haidalla in March 1981, Ould Taya was appointed Prime Minister on 25 April 1981, replacing civilian prime minister Sid Ahmed Ould Bneijara. He held this office until 8 March 1984, when Ould Haidalla, who was still head of state, took over the post. On 12 December 1984, while Ould Haidalla was out of the country, Ould Taya seized power and declared himself Chairman of the Military Committee for National Salvation.
In October 1987, Ould Taya's military government allegedly uncovered a tentative coup d'état by a group of black army officers, backed, according to the authorities, by Senegal. Several officers were arrested, interrogated, and tortured, leading to the acquittal of only seven.
Senegal-Mauritania War
The discord between conflicting visions of Mauritanian society as either black or Arab again rose to the surface during the intercommunal violence that broke out in April 1989. This tension grew when the Mauritania-Senegal border dispute escalated into violence between the two nations.
Even before the war, Ould Taya and Abdou Diouf, president of Senegal at the time, had been engaged in a dispute after the completion of dams on the Senegal River. Ould Taya argued that Senegalese representatives in the OMVS had refused to create river harbors during construction, diminishing Mauritania's ability to exploit phosphate deposits.
Heightened ethnic tensions created an additional catalyst for the Mauritania–Senegal Border War, which started as a result of a conflict in Diawara between Moorish Mauritanian herders and Senegalese farmers over grazing rights. The border between Senegal and Mauritania was then closed, and the two nations ended diplomatic ties with each other.
As the war continued, many Fula and Soninke people were arrested and executed. Ould Taya's government initiated a military investigation before implementing a law of amnesty.
In July 1991, presidents Diouf and Ould Taya reached an agreement to end hostilities. On 18 July, Senegal and Mauritania signed a peace treaty, ending the Mauritania–Senegal Border War, and on 2 May 1992, the border reopened to civilians.
Arab nationalism and foreign policy
the late 1980s, Ould Taya had established close co-operation with Iraq, and pursued a strongly Arab nationalist line. Mauritania grew increasingly isolated internationally, and tensions with Western countries grew dramatically after it took a pro-Iraqi position during the 1991 Gulf War, although he had received French support and aid in 1984-1987. Ould Taya faced criticism for infringing the rights of black Mauritanians during this time, including forced expatriations.