Mohamed Salem Ould Béchir

Mohamed Salem Ould Béchir (; born December 17, 1962) is a Mauritanian politician who served as Prime Minister of Mauritania from 2018 to 2019, following the resignation of his predecessor, Yahya Ould Hademine, and his government, in late October 2018.

Biography

He studied robotics engineering in France. He began his career at the National Society of Water and Electricity of Mauritania (SOMELEC) in September 1986.

He was Secretary General of several ministries from May 2007 to September 2009, when he was appointed General Manager of the Mauritanian Electricity Company.He stepped down in September 2013 when he joined the government as Minister of Water and Sanitation.

In January 2015, he was appointed Minister of Petroleum, Energy and Mines, a position he held until 2016, when he was appointed Director of the National Society of Mining and Industry (SNIM).

In January 2023, Mohamed Salem Ould Béchir was serving as Mauritania's Minister of Foreign Affairs. On January 31, 2023, he welcomed Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian to Nouakchott, marking his continued involvement in Mauritania’s diplomatic efforts.

He was appointed prime minister after the resignation of Yahya Ould Hademine, several weeks after the triumph of the party in power, the party of the Union for the Republic (UPR), in the parliamentary elections of September 2018.

Legal proceedings He is accused by the National Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office of « bad governance and corruption », during his mandates at the head of the SNIM.

In April 2021, Ould Béchir was implicated in a high-profile corruption case investigating financial misconduct during former President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz's administration. The trial began on January 25, 2023, and brought several former officials to court.

Acquittal On December 4, 2023, the Criminal Court specializing in corruption crimes acquitted Mohamed Salem Ould Béchir, along with former Prime Minister Yahya Ould Hademine and former Minister of Petroleum Taleb Ould Abdi Vall, of all charges related to financial misconduct.