Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, was born Mohamed Ould Cheikh Mohamed Ahmed Ould Ghazouani on December 31, 1956, in Boumdeid in the Assaba Region of Mauritania. The names of his father and mother are not available but his father was … Read MoreMohamed Ould Ghazouani
(1956- )
El-Ouali Mustafa Sayed was the first president of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (formerly known as Spanish Sahara or Western Sahara). Sayed was born in 1948. Bir Lehlou has been cited as his birthplace. Other authorities believe he was born in a nomad encampment on … Read MoreEl-Ouali Mustafa Sayed (1948-1976)
Moktar Ould Daddah was the first president of independent Mauritania. He was born on December 25, 1924, at Boutilimit, Mauritania, French West Africa. His parents were Muhammadun Ould Daddah and Khadijattou Mahmoul Brahim. He was descended from a family of Muslim religious scholars and political … Read MoreMoktar Ould Daddah (1924-2003)
Sundiata (Sunjata) Keita was a West African political leader who would become the founder and first ruler of the Mali Empire in medieval West Africa. He founded the empire circa 1235 CE and ruled until his death in circa 1255 CE. The Mali empire was prosperous under his rule. Sundiata … Read MoreSundiata Keita (1210?-1255?)
Image Ownership: Public Domain Yahya Jammeh is a Gambian politician and former military officer who was the second president of Gambia from 1994 to 2017. Jammeh ruled Gambia for 23 years after rising to power as a young army officer in a bloodless military coup … Read MoreYahya Abdul-Aziz Jemus Junking Jammeh (1965- )
The Almoravids, or al-Murabitun as they called themselves, were an Islamic Berber dynasty that established an empire in Morocco and eventually took it over a wide region of Northwest Africa including modern Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, and part of Algeria. The emprire stretched as far south … Read MoreThe Almoravids/al-Murabitun (1040–1147)
Krystian Legierski, an LGBT activist, politician, lawyer, and entrepreneur, is the first openly gay person elected to public office in Poland. He was born on April 22, 1978, in the village of Koniakow in southwestern Poland. His mother is Polish and his father is from … Read MoreKrystian Legierski (1978– )
In the article below, Carlton McLellan, PhD, a senior fellow at the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training (ADST), briefly describes the history of the more than one hundred and forty black women and men who have led diplomatic delegations as U.S. Ambassadors in ninety-five … Read MoreAmerica’s Black Ambassadors: A Historical Snapshot
Nouakchott, meaning “place of the winds” in the Hassaniya language, became the capital of Mauritania in 1960. In 2006 it had an estimated population of 708,000 people. It is located on the Atlantic Ocean but is on the edge of the Sahara Desert area of … Read MoreNouakchott, Mauritania (1659- )
Hadrian’s Wall, named after Roman Emperor Hadrian (117-138 AD), was built between 122 and 128 AD as the frontier fortification for the northernmost region of the Roman Empire, near what is the current border of England and Scotland. During their time on the island of … Read MoreAfricans at Hadrian’s Wall
