Mauritanian Capital Chooses First Female Mayor

By ADF On Oct 8, 2014

Maty Mint Hamady became the first female mayor of Nouakchott, Mauritania, in February 2014.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

A former minister became Nouakchott’s first female mayor in February 2014 after being voted in by councilors to head up the sprawling Mauritanian capital’s local authority.

Maty Mint Hamady, 46, is an economics graduate from the University of Nouakchott and the Ecole Nationale d’Administration in Paris, one of Europe’s most prestigious graduate schools.

A prominent member of the Union for the Republic, the ruling party of Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, she resigned as public services minister along with the rest of the cabinet, a routine step after national elections.

About 1 million people — almost a third of the population — live in Nouakchott, making the job one of the vast, West African desert nation’s most high-profile political roles. Although many women have been elected to lead smaller councils across Mauritania, only men have occupied the top local government post in the capital.