Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz

Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz (Hassaniyya: محمد ولد عبد العزيز; born 20 December 1956) is a retired Mauritanian military officer and politician who served as the 8th President of Mauritania from 2009 to 2019.

A career soldier and high-ranking officer, he was a leading figure in the August 2005 coup that ousted President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya, and later in August 2008, he led another coup, that removed President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi. After the 2008 coup, Mohamed became president of the High Council of State as part of what was described as a political transition leading to a new election. He resigned from that post in April 2009 in order to stand as a candidate in the July 2009 presidential election, which he won. He took office in August 2009. He was subsequently re-elected in 2014, then did not seek re-election in 2019. He was succeeded by Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, who assumed office in August 2019.

Mohamed also held the role of chairman of the African Union from 2014 to 2015.

In June 2021, Mohamed was arrested and detained on charges of corruption. He was sentenced to five years' imprisonment in December 2023, which was extended to 15 years in May 2025.