Cheikh El Avia Ould Mohamed Khouna
| Cheikh El Avia Ould Mohamed Khouna | |
|---|---|
| 7th Prime Minister of Mauritania | |
|
In office January 2, 1996 – December 18, 1997 |
|
| Preceded by | Sidi Mohamed Ould Boubacar |
| Succeeded by | Mohamed Lemine Ould Guig |
|
In office November 16, 1998 – July 6, 2003 |
|
| Preceded by | Mohamed Lemine Ould Guig |
| Succeeded by | Sghair Ould M'Bareck |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1956 (age 60-61) Mauritania |
| Political party | Republican Party for Democracy and Renewal |
Cheikh El Avia Ould Mohamed Khouna (born 1956) is a Mauritanian political figure. He was the 7th Prime Minister of Mauritania from January 2, 1996 to December 18, 1997, Minister of Foreign Affairs from July 12, 1998 to November 16, 1998, and Prime Minister again from November 16, 1998 to July 6, 2003 under President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya; later, he briefly served as Minister of Foreign Affairs again in 2008.
Khouna was born in 1956 in Amourj in the eastern Mauritanian province of Hodh Ech Chargui. He was educated in nearby Néma and at a lycee in Nouakchott, graduating in 1978. He received an advanced degree in agricultural science in Morocco, where he lived from 1978 to 1982. Khouna returned to Mauritania and joined the civil service, serving as director of the fisheries company Societe Mauritanienne de Commercialisation du Popsson (SMCP) from 1984 to 1992. He was Director of the Algerian-Mauritanian Fishing Company from 1992 to 1993, then became Secretary-General of the Mauritanian Ministry of Fishing in 1994. He was subsequently appointed to the government as Minister of Fisheries and Maritime Economy on February 21, 1995. On January 2, 1996, Khona became Prime Minister, replacing Sidi Mohamed Ould Boubacar. In a surprise decision shortly after the reelection of the President, he stepped down as premier in December 1997 in favor of law professor Mohamed Lemine Ould Guig and became Minister Secretary-General of the Presidency. Between July 12 and November 16, 1998 Khouna served as Minister of Foreign Affairs during a period of instability in the cabinet.
After leaving the Foreign Ministry, he was reappointed to the premiership under President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya. Khouna helped to come up with and carry out the policies of the President and attended many important conferences in place of Taya. In the summer on 1999, Khouna suffered a foreign policy setback when he could not secure an audience with Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika due to Mauritania's establishing full ties with Israel. Relations between the two countries deteriorated dramatically despite having a good relationship for two decades prior. Khouna denounced the opposition party, Action pour le Changement, in an important speech at the National Assembly in December 2001. The group was outlawed two weeks later. A member of the Republican Party for Democracy and Renewal, some of his aims were to address environmental issues.
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