Mohamed Ould Ghazouani

Mohamed Ould Cheikh Mohamed Ahmed Ould Ghazouani (born 4 December 1956), also known as Ghazouani and Ould Ghazouani, is a Mauritanian politician and retired army general who has been the 9th President of Mauritania since 2019, and the 22nd chairperson of the African Union from February 2024 until February 2025. Ghazouani is a former general-director of National Security and former chief of staff of the Armed Forces of Mauritania (2008–2018). He was defense minister of Mauritania from October 2018 to March 2019.

At that time a close ally of his predecessor Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, he was elected president of Mauritania on 22 June 2019 following the 2019 presidential election. His victory in the 2019 presidential election was presented as having been the country's first peaceful transition of power since independence. Ghazouani has overseen a period of relative stability in Mauritania. He has worked to improve social security and combat corruption, including the arrest of his predecessor.

Ghazouani also played a crucial role in eliminating jihadist violence, modernizing the military, and engaging with communities and Islamist groups.