Ba Ousmane –– Minister of Defense, Pensioners Affairs and Children of Martyrs
Biography
Senior State Official – Diplomacy and Governance
Date and Place of Birth: June 25, 1968, Ould Yenge.
Marital Status: Married.
I. Personal Profile
He holds advanced degrees in social sciences, management, and development program administration, and has extensive experience in public administration, including the coordination of government operations, diplomacy, oversight of development programs, public policy reform, governance of the mining sector, the promotion of good governance principles, poverty alleviation, and the promotion of local development.
Second: Professional Experience
October 10, 2026: Minister of Defense, Pensioners Affairs and Children of Martyrs.
July 12, 2023 – October 10, 2026: Director General of the National Agency “Ma’aden Mauritania.”
March 2022 – July 2023: President of the Supreme Council of Education.
October 2020 – March 2021: Chairman of the National Hydrocarbons Commission.
January 2020 – October 2020: Director General of Mauritania Airports.
November 2018 – January 2020: Chairman of the National Hydrocarbons Commission.
February 2017 – November 2018: Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Mauritania to the United Nations, and accredited to Canada, Cuba, and Haiti.
July 2016 – February 2017: Ambassador of Mauritania to the Republic of The Gambia.
February 2014 – 2016: Minister of National Education.
September 2013 – February 2014: Minister of Basic Education.
September 2008–2013: Minister and Secretary-General of the Government.
May 2007–August 2008: Secretary-General of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
2003–2007: Regional Coordinator and Manager of the Poverty Reduction Project in South Afoutou and Karakoro, in the regions of Kankossa and Mpodou.
1997–2003: Expert in management, administration, and communication within a program for the La’saba region, funded by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the United Nations Fund for Productive Enterprises (UNFEP), in collaboration with relevant national authorities.
III. Academic Qualifications
1995–1996: Diploma of Specialized Postgraduate Studies (DESS) in Project Management in the Context of Development, University of Bordeaux II, France.
1993–1994: Diploma of Advanced Studies (DEA) in Philosophy, University of Bordeaux III, France.
1992–1993: Diploma of Advanced Studies (DEA) in Sociology, specializing in Social Problems and Collective Action, University of Bordeaux II, France.
1991–1992: Master’s Degree in Social Sciences, University of Nouakchott.
1990–1991: Bachelor’s Degree in Social Sciences.
1989–1990: Diploma of General University Studies (DEUG) in Social Sciences, University of Nouakchott.
1987–1988: High School Diploma, Modern Languages Track (bilingual).
IV. Languages
Arabic: Very Good.
French: Very Good.
English: Good.
V. Professional Activities, Committees, and Institutional Responsibilities
Oversaw government workshops and seminars, as well as interministerial sectoral committees, particularly in the following areas:
Cabinet meetings; the strategic framework for poverty reduction; anti-corruption; good governance; and the Millennium Development Goals.
Social protection; decentralization and local development; investment and public procurement codes; and education and public health.
Cross-border security, youth and gender, human rights, institutional cooperation, natural disaster prevention, electoral processes, and the environment.
Coordinator overseeing the work of the 2009 Public Forums on Democracy, and member of the supervisory committee for the preparatory days of consultation with the Assembly
Member of the Joint Ministerial Committee responsible for the annual assessment of cooperation between Mauritania and European Union member states.
Official in charge of overseeing the organization of the National Dialogue in 2011.
Member of the Mauritanian delegation to the Mauritanian-Gambian Joint High Commission in May 2012.
Head of the Mauritanian delegation to the UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development, held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, in November 2014.
Vice Chair of the Bureau of the Conference of African Ministers of Education (COMEDAF).
Participated in several international seminars and conferences on education, as well as in thematic groups on international relations at the United Nations.
VI. Decorations and Honors
Order of the Knight: Awarded on November 28, 2020, by His Excellency the President of the Republic, Mr. Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani.
A congratulatory letter from the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, following the conclusion of his term as Mauritania’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations.