Military Committee for National Salvation

The Military Committee for National Salvation (French, Comité Militaire de Salut National, CMSN) was a military government of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania that took power in 1979. It was installed by Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla, Ahmed Ould Bouceif and fellow officers, in an internal regime/military coup d'état on April 6, 1979, removing Col. Mustapha Ould Salek of the Military Committee for National Recovery (CRMN) from effective power. He was replaced by Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Louly in May 1979; Haidallah would later emerge as the main military strongman, and go on to assume full powers, only to be deposed by Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya. The CMSN remained as an institution until 1992, when Taya introduced a multi-party system - he himself lost power only in 2005.