Yahya Ould Hademine (Arabic: يحيى ولد حدمين; born December 31, 1953) is a Mauritanian engineer and politician who served as Defense Minister of Mauritania.[1] He served as the Prime Minister of Mauritania from August 21, 2014[2][3] to October 29, 2018.

Yahya Ould Hademine
يحيى ولد حدمين
Minister of Defense
In office
15 March 2019 – 5 August 2019
PresidentMohamed Ould Abdel Aziz
Preceded byMohamed Ould Ghazouani
Succeeded byHanena Ould Sidi
13th Prime Minister of Mauritania
In office
21 August 2014 – 29 October 2018
PresidentMohamed Ould Abdel Aziz
Preceded byMoulaye Ould Mohamed Laghdaf
Succeeded byMohamed Salem Ould Béchir
Personal details
Born (1953-12-31) 31 December 1953 (age 70)
Timbédra, French West Africa
(now Mauritania)
Political partyUnion for the Republic (UPR)
Children4

Biography

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Yahya Ould Hademine was born on December 31, 1953, in Timbédra. He received his primary education in Djigueni. Yahya attended the College of Aïoun between 1967 and 1970, and later studied at the Lycée national de Nouakchott from 1971 to 1974.[4] After moving to Canada in 1974, he earned a degree in Metallurgical Engineering from the École Polytechnique de Montréal in 1979.[5]

After moving back to Mauritania, he began working for the National industrial and mining company (SNIM), which mines for iron in Mauritania, and he became head of a steel mill in 1979.

Between 1985 and 1988 Yahya served as Head of Department purchases for SNIM. In 1989, he was promoted to CEO of the Arab Society of Iron and Steel (SAFA), which is a subsidiary of SNIM.[6]

Yahya was appointed general manager of the Sanitation Maintenance and Transportation Works (SMTA) in 2008. He said there were too many engineers in the SMTA, and the quality of work was poor. After the 2008 Mauritanian coup d'état that overthrew President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, Yahya sided with the coup leaders and was allowed to keep his job.[5]

In December 2010, Yahya became Minister of Equipment and Transport.[6] In his four years as minister, he made no significant changes.[5]

After President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz was reelected in June 2014, he appointed Yahya to the premiership on August 21. Yahya replaced Moulaye Ould Mohamed Laghdaf, who had been Prime minister since 2008.[6] Pledging to promote the participation of women in political, economic and social development, Yahya appointed seven women to his government when it was formed three days after his appointment as prime minister.[7]

Yahya met with Chinese Special Envoy on the Middle East Issues Gong Xiaosheng on May 19, 2015, to discuss bilateral relations.[8] He spoke at an agriculture conference in December 2015, and emphasized that his government fully supports the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA)'s initiative to “expand wheat production in the country to enhance national food security and reduce dependence on increasing wheat imports.”[9] In June 2016, he caused controversy when he called Ahmed Baba Ould Azizi, President of the General Confederation of Employers of Mauritania, "a terrorist, worse than Al Qaeda and Daesh together."[10] He resigned from the premiership on October 29, 2018.[11]

In 2022, he was accused of « bad governance, abuse of power and corruption », during his terms as prime minister and Minister of Transport, a judgment is required against him according to the National Anti-Corruption Prosecution.[12][13]

Personal life

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Yahya is married and has four children.[4] In 2021, he was jailed for corruption.[14]

References

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  1. ^ "Mauritania: Defence minister resigns to pursue presidential ambition". apanews.net.
  2. ^ "Premier Ministre Yahya Ould Hademine". AMI (in French). August 21, 2014. Retrieved November 3, 2016..
  3. ^ "Le nouveau Premier ministre prend service". AMI (in French). August 21, 2014. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  4. ^ a b "Biographie du nouveau PM Yahya Ould Hademine". ANI (in French). Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  5. ^ a b c "Qui est le Premier ministre?". Cridem (in French). November 24, 2014. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  6. ^ a b c "President Aziz appoints Yahya Ould Hademine as new Prime Minister". Trade Bridge Consultants. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  7. ^ "Mauritanie: le nouveau cabinet Hademine". BBC. August 22, 2014. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  8. ^ "Prime Minister Yahya Ould Hademine of Mauritania Meets with Chinese Special Envoy on the Middle East Issue Gong Xiaosheng". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  9. ^ "Mauritanian Prime Minister commends and pledges support to ICARDA's wheat initiative". International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  10. ^ "Dîner chez le premier Ministre: Yahya Ould Hademine s'en prend violemment à Ahmed Baba Azizi". NoorInfo (in French). June 14, 2016. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  11. ^ "October 2018". rulers.org. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
  12. ^ "Corruption : jugement requis pour Aziz et ses co-accusés, à l'exception de Ould Ndjay et Hassena Ould Ely". Mauriweb (in French). Retrieved 2023-09-04.
  13. ^ "Mauritanie : le procès de l'ancien président plonge au cœur des affaires de corruption". Le Monde.fr (in French). 2023-04-11. Retrieved 2023-10-14.
  14. ^ "Mauritanie : Ce qui attend Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz, inculpé pour corruption – Jeune Afrique". 12 March 2021.
Political offices
Preceded by Prime Minister of Mauritania
2014–2018
Succeeded by