1960)

_#_Executive branch: president, Military Committee for National
Salvation (CMSN), Council of Ministers (cabinet)

_#_Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Assemblee
Nationale), dissolved after 10 July 1978 coup; legislative power
resides with the CMSN

_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)

_#_Leaders:

Chief of State and Head of Government--President Col. Maaouya Ould
SidAhmed TAYA (since 12 December 1984)

_#_Political parties and leaders: suspended

_#_Suffrage: none

_#_Elections: last presidential election August 1976; National
Assembly dissolved 10 July 1978; no national elections are scheduled

_#_Communists: no Communist party, but there is a scattering of Maoist
sympathizers

_#_Member of: ABEDA, ACCT (associate), ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU,
CAEU, CCC, CEAO, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, IDA,
IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS,
NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Abdellah OULD DADDAH;
Chancery at 2129 Leroy Place NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202)
232-5700;

US--Ambassador William H. TWADDELL; Embassy at address NA,
Nouakchott (mailing address is B. P. 222, Nouakchott); telephone [222]
(2) 252-660 or 252-663

_#_Flag: green with a yellow five-pointed star above a yellow,
horizontal crescent; the closed side of the crescent is down; the
crescent, star, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam

_*_Economy
_#_Overview: A majority of the population still depends on agriculture
and livestock for a livelihood, even though most of the nomads and many
subsistence farmers were forced into the cities by recurrent droughts in
the 1970s and 1980s. Mauritania has extensive deposits of iron ore that
account for almost 50% of total exports. The decline in world demand for
this ore, however, has led to cutbacks in production. The nation's
coastal waters are among the richest fishing areas in the world, but
overexploitation by foreigners threatens this key source of revenue. The
country's first deepwater port opened near Nouakchott in 1986. In recent
years, the droughts, the conflict with Senegal, rising energy costs,
and economic mismanagement have resulted in a substantial buildup of
foreign debt. The government now has begun the second stage of an
economic reform program in consultation with the World Bank, the IMF,
and