Colonel Haidalla's seizure of power consolidated military rule in Mauritania under a single leader following the post-1979 coup junta.
Key Facts
- Date of coup
- 4 January 1980
- Coup leader
- Colonel Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla
- Deposed leader
- Lt-Colonel Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Louly
- Ruling body
- Military Committee for National Salvation (CMSN)
- CMSN membership
- 24 members
- Civilian PM appointed
- Sid'Ahmed Ould Bneijara, 12 December 1980
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Following a 1979 coup in Mauritania, a 24-member military junta called the Military Committee for National Salvation (CMSN) held power under President Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Louly. Haidalla, serving as Prime Minister, sought to consolidate authority within the ruling junta structure.
On 4 January 1980, Prime Minister Colonel Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla led a military coup that removed President Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Louly from power. Haidalla then assumed the presidency of the CMSN, concentrating executive authority in his own hands as both President and Prime Minister.
Following the coup, Haidalla governed Mauritania as both President and Prime Minister until 12 December 1980, when he appointed a civilian government with Sid'Ahmed Ould Bneijara as Prime Minister, partially shifting executive responsibilities while retaining the presidency.