Moktar Ould Daddah was a pivotal figure in Mauritania's history, serving as the country's first President from 1960 until 1978. Born on December 25, 1924, in Boutilimit, French West Africa (now Mauritania), Ould Daddah came from a prominent family of Islamic scholars. His upbringing was rooted in Islamic traditions, which greatly influenced his later political ideology and policies. Ould Daddah pursued higher education in Paris, studying law at the Sorbonne, where he developed an interest in politics and became exposed to ideas of nationalism and self-determination.

After returning to Mauritania, Ould Daddah became involved in the political movements that were striving for independence from French colonial rule. He founded the Mauritanian Regroupment Party in 1958, which later became the People's Party of Mauritania (PPM), and began to advocate for a unified Mauritanian identity, which sought to bridge the ethnic and social divides between the Moorish north and the Sub-Saharan south.

Mauritania gained its independence on November 28, 1960, and Ould Daddah was elected as the country's first President. His presidency was marked by efforts to modernize the country and balance the competing interests of the nation's diverse population. Ould Daddah established a one-party state under the PPM in 1964, arguing that it was necessary to maintain national unity in a country with such a fragile social fabric.

Ould Daddah's regime sought to industrialize and develop Mauritania, though his policies often struggled to produce significant economic growth due to the country's limited resources and the complex geopolitical environment. One of his major policies was the nationalization of the country's iron mines, which were a significant source of revenue but were controlled by foreign companies.

In foreign policy, Ould Daddah aligned Mauritania with France and pursued a moderate stance in international relations. However, Mauritania's involvement in the Western Sahara conflict in the mid-1970s proved to be a major challenge for his government. Ould Daddah sought to claim part of the territory when Spain withdrew, leading to a costly and ultimately unsuccessful military campaign against the Polisario Front, an indigenous Sahrawi rebel group fighting for independence.

The strain of the Western Sahara conflict, combined with economic difficulties and political unrest, led to Ould Daddah's downfall. In 1978, he was overthrown in a bloodless military coup led by Colonel Mustafa Ould Salek. After the coup, Ould Daddah was placed under house arrest and eventually went into exile in France.

He spent many years in exile before being allowed to return to Mauritania in 2001, where he remained until his death on October 14, 2003, in Paris. Ould Daddah's legacy in Mauritania is complex. He is remembered for his role in securing Mauritanian independence and his efforts to create a sense of national unity, but his authoritarian methods and the economic and military troubles of his later years cloud his historical standing.

REFERENCE:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moktar_Ould_Daddah