conventional long form: Islamic Republic
of Mauritania conventional short form: Mauritania local short form: Muritaniyah local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Islamiyah al Muritaniyah
Government type:
republic
Capital:
Nouakchott
Administrative
divisions:
12 regions (regions, singular - region) and 1
capital district*; Adrar, Assaba, Brakna, Dakhlet Nouadhibou, Gorgol,
Guidimaka, Hodh Ech Chargui, Hodh El Gharbi, Inchiri, Nouakchott*,
Tagant, Tiris Zemmour, Trarza
Independence:
28 November 1960 (from France)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 28 November (1960)
Constitution:
12 July 1991
Legal system:
a combination of Shari'a (Islamic law) and French
civil law
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Maaouya Ould Sid
Ahmed TAYA (since 12 December 1984) head of government: Prime Minister Sghair Ould M'BARECK (since
6 July 2003) cabinet: Council of Ministers elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year
term; election last held 7 November 2003 (next to be held NA 2009);
prime minister appointed by the president election results: President Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed TAYA
reelected for a third term with 60.8% of the vote
Legislative branch:
bicameral legislature consists of the Senate or
Majlis al-Shuyukh (56 seats, a part of the seats up for election every
two years; members elected by municipal leaders to serve six-year
terms) and the National Assembly or Majlis al-Watani (81 seats;
members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: Senate - last held 12 April 2002 (next to be held NA
April 2004); National Assembly - last held 19 and 26 October 2001
(next to be held NA 2006) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats
by party - PRDS 54, RFD 1, UNDD 1; National Assembly - percent of vote
by party - PRDS 79%, RDU 3.5%, UDP 3.5%, AC 5%, UFP 3.5%, FP 1.5%;
seats by party - PRDS 64, UDP 3, RDU 3, AC 4, RFD 3, UFP 3, and FP 1
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Court of Appeals;
lower courts
Political parties and
leaders:
Action for Change or AC [Messoud Ould BOULKHEIR];
Alliance for Justice and Democracy or AJD [Kebe ABDOULAYE]; Democratic
and Social Republican Party or PRDS (ruling party) [President Maaouya
Ould Sid Ahmed TAYA]; Mauritanian Party for Renewal and Concorde or
PMRC [Molaye El Hassen Ould JIYID]; National Union for Democracy and
Development or UNDD [Tidjane KOITA]; Party for Liberty, Equality and
Justice or PLEJ [Daouda M'BAGNIGA]; Popular Front or FP [Ch'bih Ould
CHEIKH MALAININE]; Popular Progress Alliance or APP [Mohamed El Hafed
Ould ISMAEL]; Popular Social and Democratic Union or UPSD [Mohamed
Mahmoud Ould MAH]; Progress Force Union or UFP [Mohamed Ould MAOULOUD];
Rally of Democratic Forces or RFD [Ahmed Ould DADDAH]; Rally for
Democracy and Unity or RDU [Ahmed Ould SIDI BABA]; Union for Democracy
and Progress or UDP [Naha Mint MOUKNASS] note: the Action for Change party was banned in January 2002;
parties legalized by constitution ratified 12 July 1991, however,
politics continue to be tribally based
Political pressure
groups and leaders:
Arab nationalists; Ba'athists; General
Confederation of Mauritanian Workers or CGTM [Abdallahi Ould MOHAMED,
secretary general]; Independent Confederation of Mauritanian Workers
or CLTM [Samory Ould BEYE]; Islamists; Mauritanian Workers Union or
UTM [Mohamed Ely Ould BRAHIM, secretary general]
chief of mission: Ambassador Mohamedou
Ould MICHEL chancery: 2129 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 FAX: [1] (202) 319-2623 telephone: [1] (202) 232-5700
Diplomatic
representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Joseph E.
LEBARON embassy: Rue Abdallaye (between Presidency building and Spanish
Embassy), Nouakchott mailing address: BP 222, Nouakchott telephone: [222] 25-26-60, 25-26-63, 25-11-41, 25-11-45 FAX: [222] 25-25-92
Flag description:
green with a yellow five-pointed star above a
yellow, horizontal crescent; the closed side of the crescent is down;
the crescent, star, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam