Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah

Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah (born November 21, 1940), is a Mauritanian diplomat and United Nations official.

Ould-Abdallah graduated from secondary school in Dakar, Senegal. He studied economics at the University of Grenoble and the University of Paris and political science at the Sorbonne and has held several cabinet-level posts in the Mauritanian government, including that of Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. He has also been Mauritania's ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, the European Union and to the United States.

Ould-Abdallah was in charge of African economic affairs at the United Nations for six years and from 1993 to 1995 was Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali's Special Representative for Burundi during the first part of the Burundi Civil War. In 2002, Secretary General Kofi Annan appointed him Special Representative for West Africa. In 2006, Annan sent him as special envoy to Sudan in an effort to bring about a settlement of the crisis in Darfur.

Ould-Abdallah has also been active in the work of non-governmental organizations, including the [http://www.gcacma.org/english_home.htm Global Coalition for Africa] and the World Future Council.

Peace settling at the UN

Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah has been an Special Representative for the UN Secretary-General for Somalia. Under this position he has Chief mediated peace talks between the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia and the UIC (Union of Islamic Courts) and the ARS (Alliance for the Reliberation of Somalia based in Asmara, Eritrea.He also was present at peace talks in Djibouti and worked intensely for lasting peace in Somalia.

Book

* Ould-Abdallah, Ahmedou, "Burundi on the Brink, 1993-95: A UN Special Envoy Reflects on Preventive Diplomacy", Washington:United States Institute of Peace Press, 2000. ISBN 1929223005