Mauritania Names 29-Member Cabinet, New Defence Chief
MAURITANIA · GOVERNMENT
Key Facts
- —What happened Mauritania announced a 29-member government on Saturday, 10 October.
- —Prime minister El Moctar Ould Djay resigned and was reappointed on Friday, 9 October.
- —Who left The defence, interior and energy ministers are no longer in government.
- —New faces Ba Ousmane takes defence; Mohamed Ould Abdel Vetah takes energy.
- —Continuity Al-Akhbar counts 17 members who kept their portfolios.
- —Still open No official reason was given for any individual change.
Mauritania kept its prime minister and most of his team, but replaced the two most powerful security ministers and the energy minister.
Mauritania announced a new 29-member government late on Saturday, 10 October, after the prime minister resigned and was reappointed. The Mauritania new government keeps most ministers in place but brings in new heads for defence, interior and energy.
The reshuffle matters beyond the capital, Nouakchott, because Mauritania is a Western security partner on the edge of the Sahel. It is also an offshore gas producer with a US-listed partner.
A Resignation and a Reappointment in One Day
The state news agency AMI said El Moctar Ould Djay handed his government’s resignation to the president on Friday, 9 October. President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani reappointed him by decree the same day.
That evening, the president asked Ould Djay to form a new government, AMI reported. Ould Djay has led the government since August 2024, after Ghazouani began his second term.
Cridem, a Nouakchott news portal, said the resignation came “the day after the publication of the commission of inquiry’s report.” That inquiry examined two fires at electrical transformer stations in Nouakchott.
The fires, on 21 and 22 August, caused power cuts in the capital. The government did not link the resignation to the report in any official statement.
Who Is in the Mauritania New Government
Aissata Ba Yahya, the minister secretary general of the presidency, read out the list at the Presidential Palace in Nouakchott on Saturday. AMI published the full composition shortly before 11 p.m. local time, which equals GMT.
The list names 27 ministers, the secretary general of the government and one deputy minister for decentralisation. Eight of the 29 members are women, Al-Akhbar’s count shows.
Ba Ousmane becomes minister of defence, veterans’ affairs and martyrs’ children. El Moctar Ould Ahmed Bouceif moves from fisheries to interior, decentralisation and local development.
Mohamed Ould Abdel Vetah, who held the portfolio before, takes over energy and petroleum. Mohamedou Ould M’Haimid moves from agriculture to economic affairs and development.
Naha Hamdi Mouknass moves from housing to health. Aïssata Lam, a newcomer, takes fisheries, maritime affairs and port infrastructure, a key sector for exports.
Several senior posts stay unchanged. Mohamed Salem Ould Merzoug keeps foreign affairs, Codioro Moussa N’Guenore keeps finance, and Dy Ould Zein keeps mines and industry.
The Two Security Ministers Who Left
Al-Akhbar, an Arabic-language news site in Nouakchott, listed 10 members of the outgoing team who left. It headlined that the departures were “led by the ministers of defence and interior.”
They are Hanena Ould Sidi at defence and Mohamed Ahmed Ould Mohamed Lemine at interior. Energy and petroleum minister Mohamed Ould Khaled also left, along with the ministers for health, livestock, Islamic affairs, economy and culture.
Al-Akhbar summed up the line-up as “a new government with old names.” It counted 17 members who kept their portfolios, three who changed posts and 10 newcomers, including a human rights commissioner.
Shems Maarif, in an analysis republished by Cridem, called the two security ministers “super ministers.” It said the team “appears to fit a logic of continuity of power.”
The analysis added that this does not establish a settled third-term strategy.
The Third-Term Question in the Background
Ghazouani, a former army chief, won a second five-year term in June 2024. Mauritania’s constitution limits presidents to two terms.
Cridem headlined one analysis “a government in the shadow of the third mandate.” Local commentators now read every appointment for signs of how the 2029 succession will be managed.
What It Means for US Readers
For investors, the key change is at energy and petroleum. Dallas-based Kosmos Energy, listed in New York, partners BP in the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim gas project off Mauritania and Senegal.
The new minister, Mohamed Ould Abdel Vetah, becomes the government’s counterpart for that project and for power utility SOMELEC. The retained mines minister keeps oversight of iron ore and gold.
For Washington’s security planners, a new defence minister matters. Mauritania borders Mali, where armed jihadist groups operate.
The foreign minister stays, which suggests no immediate shift in diplomacy. Nothing in the reshuffle changes visa rules or travel conditions for US citizens.
What Is Not Known
The presidency gave no reason for replacing any individual minister. It is not known whether the grid-fire report played a role in the energy minister’s exit.
The government has not said when it will hold its first cabinet meeting or present its programme. Spellings of some names differ between French and Arabic sources; this article uses the AMI French list.
What Comes Next
Handover ceremonies between outgoing and incoming ministers are the next formal step. The last regular cabinet meeting took place on Wednesday, 7 October.
The reshuffle does not mean a change of direction. The president, the prime minister and most ministers remain in place.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Mauritania’s prime minister?
El Moctar Ould Djay remains prime minister. He resigned and was reappointed by presidential decree on Friday, 9 October.
How big is the new government?
The official list has 29 members, including the secretary general of the government and one deputy minister. Eight members are women.
Which ministers left the government?
Al-Akhbar reported that the defence, interior and energy ministers left, among 10 departures. Ba Ousmane now leads defence and El Moctar Ould Ahmed Bouceif leads interior.
Why did the government resign?
No official reason was given. Cridem noted the resignation came a day after an inquiry report on two grid fires in Nouakchott.
Does the reshuffle affect US companies?
It brings a new energy minister, the counterpart for Kosmos Energy’s gas project with BP. The foreign and finance ministers stay in place.
Sources: AMI, composition of the new government; AMI, decree appointing the prime minister; AMI, resignation of the government; Cridem, resignation; Cridem, reappointment; Cridem / Shems Maarif, analysis; Al-Akhbar, continuity count; Al-Akhbar, departing ministers (all accessed 11 October 2026).
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief
Part of our ongoing coverage
Africa: The New Scramble — the great-power contest over the continent.