Messaoud Ould Boulkheir

Messaoud Ould Boulkheir (; born 1943) is a political figure from Mauritania and a leader in the Haratine community. Messaoud also contributed towards the end of the 1989 events in Mauritania, protecting the right of the victims and the emancipation of the Haratine in Mauritania with his party.

Boulkheir is President of the People's Progressive Alliance, and was the President of the National Assembly of Mauritania from April 2007 to January 2014.

Family and childhood

Family history Messaoud Ould Boulkheir was born in 1943; the date is unclear because at that time the birth registration service was unknown. Like most Haratine at that time, his family subsisted on agriculture, including cattle farming and picking fruit, while his father also hunted.

Messaoud's mother had taken care of the family until the older sister of her master married the Chief of the Ahel Taleb Community. Messaoud's mother thought that the queen of the community would help her. In contrast to what she thought, the queen of the community was jealous of her and was helping her cousins who ignored her when her family was in a difficult situation. One night, the queen of the community sent her cousin to the Messaoud Ould Boulkheir family tent to destroy it and to beat her mother. The queen's cousins had burned the Messaoud's tent, destroying everything, took her jewelries and beat Messaoud's mother and left her for dead. They left the place with much blood and fire.

After surviving this event, Messaoud's mother went directly with her dress covered with blood, to the French colonial administration in Nema to complain. Generally, the colonial administration does not take any part of the problems of the slaves with their masters. After the colonial administrator saw her covered with blood and harmed, they decided to help her. The colonial administration asked for the restitution and reimbursement of all of the things the master's had destroyed and taken and to freed Messaoud's mother and her family. They suggested that Messaoud's mother stay in the city of Nema to avoid this kind of attack. But she refused because she wanted to live in her community and to be respected there.

The Messaoud family became one of the first Haratine family in Mauritania to become free and to live equally in the same community as their ancient masters the Beydhan. Messaoud's mother died in October 1953.

Political parties and achievements Messaoud began campaigning against slavery and for the emancipation of the Haratine in Mauritania in 1962. Messaoud met other Haratines at ENA (National School of Administration) who wished to fight for their freedom while studying for his Public Administration certificate. They formed the secret group "El HOR," which stands for group for the Emancipation of Haratine, in 1978. Because many Haratines joined the party, the formation of this party benefited the Haratines in Mauritania much. The party was protecting the right of the Haratine by creating small unit of agents in the organization who would stop the trade and the mistreating of the Haratines by the Beydhanes. EL-HOR created a "revolution" in the country which leads in 1981 to the official abolition of slavery in Mauritania. EL HOR was growing and becoming very powerful that is why in 1989 it became officially recognize, with Messaoud as leader. They were part of the municipal election in 1989. The Government created a lot of problems for the EL HOR party by arresting its leaders, that is why in 1991 Messaoud created the FUDC (United democratic forces for change). He participated in the creation of UFD (United democratic forces) in 1992 which regrouped all political leaders (Beydhan, Haratine, and Black-Africans) but Messaoud left the party because the leader was a Beydhan.

In 1995, he created his own party called AC (action for changes) which regrouped Haratine into a majority. Messaoud ended by creating the People's Progressive Alliance (APP), his current political party.

Presidential campaign Boulkheir was a candidate in the presidential election of November 7, 2003, taking the fourth place with about 5% of the vote. On November 8, together with the opposition candidates Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla and Ahmed Ould Daddah, he alleged "fraud" and urged the people to reject the results.

On January 20, 2007, following the ouster of President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya in the August 2005 military coup d'état, Boulkheir announced his candidacy in the March 2007 presidential election. In the election, held on March 11, he placed fourth, receiving 9.79% of the vote. On March 19, he backed Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi for the second round, despite the fact that he was part of the Coalition of the Forces for Democratic Change along with the other second round candidate, Ahmed Ould Daddah. Abdallahi won the election, and on April 26, 2007, Boulkheir was elected as President of the National Assembly, receiving 91 votes from the 93 deputies present.

On September 2, 2007, Boulkheir said that the APP would not join a new party being formed to support Abdallahi; according to Boulkheir, this initiative would harm pluralism and be a "move back" to a single-party dominant system.

Following the August 2008 military coup d'état, in which Abdallahi was ousted, Boulkheir said on August 10, 2008, that he still recognized Abdallahi as President and rejected the military junta's plans to hold a new election. The APP took part in a four-party alliance opposing the coup, called the National Front for the Defense of Democracy (FNDD), along with Abdallahi's party, the National Pact for Democracy and Development (PNDD-ADIL).

In October 2008, Boulkheir called for a solution to the situation that would involve Abdallahi returning to the Presidency for only the limited period necessary to organize an early Presidential election. Boulkheir's proposal would also involve the formation of a government of national unity during that period.

The National Assembly opened for its first regular session since the coup on November 10, 2008 (it had previously held a special session). Remaining in opposition to the coup, which was supported by a parliamentary majority, Boulkheir boycotted the session. On April 8, 2009, Boulkheir participated in an FNDD protest in Nouakchott against the planned June 2009 presidential election, denouncing the "unilateral electoral agenda of the putschists" and warning that "neither tanks, nor guns nor live bullets can stop our fight against the usurpation of power by force".