Abdessalam O. Ahmed Mohamed Saleh
Mauritania
Summary
- Abdessalam Ould Mohamed Saleh is a distinguished Mauritanian economist and public servant who has held several key governmental positions. Born in 1959, he pursued his higher education in economics, earning a bachelor’s degree in 1982 from the Faculty of Law and Economics of Tunis. He furthered his studies with a postgraduate degree in Development Economics in 1984 from the University of Paris-I Panthéon-Sorbonne and an International Diploma in Public Administration from the École Nationale d’ Administration (ENA) of Paris 1996.
- Mr. Abdessalam O.A Mohamed Saleh began his professional career in 1985 at Mauritania's Ministry of Economy and Finance, where he held various senior positions, at times of intense reforms known as the adjustment process launched with the support of the World Bank and IMF. He played an important role, as Deputy Director of Financing and External Debt, as Senior Advisor to the Minister of Planning and later as Director of Planning, in transitioning the economy from a state-led economy to a more open, free market and private sector friendly economy, while ensuring that social dimensions of the adjustment process are fully integrated in the national priority setting process. In these various capacities, Mr. Mohamed Saleh led the technical interministerial work on the macro-economic framework, the formulation of the global and sectoral strategies, the mobilization of the financing and the oversight of the programs and projects.
- Mr. Mohamed Saleh was called in the Government in December 1997 as Minister of Fisheries before being called in May 1998 to head the newly established “Commissariat for Poverty Alleviation, Insertion and Human rights”. In this complex and challenging role, Mr. Mohamed Saleh led and coordinated various Government, Civil Society and NGOs programs and activities addressing urban and rural poverty and Youth unemployment. Mr. Mohamed Saleh coordinated the formulation of the Mauritania Poverty Reduction Strategic Paper following a large participatory process that was hailed by the Mauritania Partners, the World Bank and IMF boards and considered as a template for other countries. The adoption of the PRSP in 2001 paved the way for the country to benefit from the Highly Indebted Poor Countries initiative (HIPC).
- Mr. Mohamed Saleh joined the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 2003 as Representative in Lebanon. He held several senior positions in the Organization, culminating in his role as Director of the Liaison office with the United Nations in Geneva in 2011 and later as Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for the Near East and North Africa, between 2012-2020. Mr. Mohamed Saleh tenure as Director of the FAO liaison Office was marked by the food price crisis 2008-2013. Mr. Mohamed played an important role in advocating policies to mitigate the impact of the crisis while ensuring that the international trade system is not disrupted. Mr. Mohamed Saleh expanded the partnership with the WTO, the World Bank as well as with the WHO and other UN organization and civil society on issues around rural women empowerment, food safety and sustainable food systems. In his capacity as Assistant Director-General for the Near East and North Africa, Mr. Mohamed Saleh led the Organization strategies and programs oversight and the partnership with the member countries in the context of multiple crisis, including massive humanitarian crises in several parts of the region. Mr. Mohamed Saleh notably led the formulation and implementation of a multiagency Water Scarcity initiative to support member countries addressing the water scarcity challenge in a context of climate change and led the deepening of the relations with the member countries.
- In August 2020, Ould Mohamed Saleh was recalled to Mauritania's government as the Minister of Petroleum, Mines, and Energy. In this capacity, he has been instrumental in advancing the country's energy sector. His tenure reflected a commitment to leveraging Mauritania's natural resources for sustainable development, balancing economic growth with climate change considerations. Under his leadership, Mauritania developed a long-term strategy for the development of its energy sector aimed at harnessing the oil and gas potential of the country while ensuring access to electricity to all the citizens by 2030. Mr. Mohamed Saleh played an important role in the advocacy at global level for Africa access to energy, building strong partnerships with key international players. Under his leadership the mining cadaster was revamped to become more transparent and attractive. The reform of the cadaster was recognized by the ITIE delivering a reward to the country.
- Mr. Mohamed Saleh was appointed Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development in July 2023. Under his leadership, Mr. Mohamed Saleh expanded Mauritania’s international partnerships. Under his leadership, Mauritania accessed the IMF RST resources at the highest level and brough the financing from the world bank to more than one Billion Dollars and mobilized the largest African Development Bank Funding ever for the country. Mr. Mohamed Saleh was equally instrumental in advocating the Africa Union agenda in the international fora, including at the G7 and the G20.
- Throughout his career Mr. Mohamed Saleh has demonstrated outstanding leadership in strategic thinking, in building strong multiform partnerships, human resources management and motivation as well as a commitment to the highest standards of governance , transparent decision making and integrity. Mr. Mohamed Saleh leadership and skills have been independently assessed and confirmed.
Overview
12
12
years of professional experience
3962
3962
years of post-secondary education
Work history
International consultant on development strategies
Self-employed
2025.01 - Current
Minister of the Economy & Sustainable Development
Mauritanian Government
Nouakchott, Mauritania
2023.07 - 2024.08
Minister of Petroleum Mines & Energy
Mauritanian Government
Nouakchott, Mauritania
2020.08 - 2023.07
Assistant Director General MENA
Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO)
Cairo, Egypt
2012.10 - 2020.08
Education
International Diploma in Public Administration
École nationale d'administration
Paris, France 2001.04 - 1995.12
Master's of Development Economics
University of Paris-I Panthéon-Sorbonne
Paris, FranceBachelor of Economics
The Faculty of Law and Economics of Tunis.
Tunis, TunisiaLanguages
English
Proficient (C2)
Arabic
Proficient (C2)
French
Proficient (C2)
Timeline
International consultant on development strategies
Self-employed
2025.01 - Current
Minister of the Economy & Sustainable Development
Mauritanian Government
2023.07 - 2024.08
Minister of Petroleum Mines & Energy
Mauritanian Government
2020.08 - 2023.07
Assistant Director General MENA
Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO)
2012.10 - 2020.08
International Diploma in Public Administration
École nationale d'administration
2001.04 - 1995.12
Master's of Development Economics
University of Paris-I Panthéon-Sorbonne
Bachelor of Economics
The Faculty of Law and Economics of Tunis.