On This Day

Palace coup in Mauritania

The 1984 Mauritanian coup d'état was a bloodless military coup in Mauritania which took place on 12 December 1984.

The 1984 Mauritanian coup d'état was a bloodless military coup in Mauritania which took place on 12 December 1984. The coup was led by the Army Chief of Staff, Colonel Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya, who seized power in the capital Nouakchott while the President, Colonel Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla, was out of the country. Haidalla was attending a francophone summit in Bujumbura, Burundi. Taya had assumed the presidency of the 24-member ruling Military Committee for National Salvation (CMSN), a military junta which was created following an earlier coup in 1979. Reports from Nouakchott said the coup had caused no disruption and business remained normal. Military reinforcements were evident near the radio and television stations and a few public buildings, the reports said.

Historical Significance

The 1984 Mauritanian coup d'état was a bloodless military coup in Mauritania which took place on 12 December 1984.

Events Before

  1. 'New Age' music radio program "Hearts of Space," hosted by Stephen Hill, makes its national syndication debut on U.S. Na

    'New Age' music radio program "Hearts of Space," hosted by Stephen Hill, makes its national syndication debut on U.S. National Public Radio

  2. IOC restores Jim Thorpe's Olympic medals for his pentathlon and decathlon victories, 70 years after they were stripped f

    IOC restores Jim Thorpe's Olympic medals for his pentathlon and decathlon victories, 70 years after they were stripped from him for accepting $25 to play semi-pro baseball

  3. Film genius Jerry Lewis (56) marries 2nd wife dancer SanDee Pitnick

    Film genius Jerry Lewis (56) marries 2nd wife dancer SanDee Pitnick

  4. Final TV episode of "M*A*S*H" airs on CBS, a two-hour special directed by series star Alan Alda titled "Goodbye, Farewel

    Final TV episode of "M*A*S*H" airs on CBS, a two-hour special directed by series star Alan Alda titled "Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen"; a record 125 million viewers watch in the US

  5. Actor Harrison Ford marries screenwriter Melissa Mathison (divorced 2004)

    Francis Ford Coppola ( KOH-pə-lə; born April 7, 1939) is an American filmmaker. One of the leading figures of the New Hollywood, Coppola is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential...

Events After

  1. 'Nordu.net' is registered as the world's first domain name on the internet

    This is a list of the oldest extant registered generic top-level domains used in the Domain Name System of the Internet. Until 1986, Domain Registration was limited to organizations with access to…

  2. Israel's government confirms the resettlement of 10,000 Ethiopian Jews

    Israel's government confirms the resettlement of 10,000 Ethiopian Jews

  3. Baseball player Darryl Strawberry (22) weds Lisa Andrews

    Baseball player Darryl Strawberry (22) weds Lisa Andrews

  4. Charity single "We Are the World" recorded by supergroup USA for Africa (Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, Quincy Jones, B

    Charity single "We Are the World" recorded by supergroup USA for Africa (Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, Quincy Jones, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, and other pop stars)

  5. South African President P. W. Botha offers to free Nelson Mandela if he denounces violence

    Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was a South African anti-apartheid activist and statesman who was the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999.

More from the 1980s

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on December 24, 1984?
The 1984 Mauritanian coup d'état was a bloodless military coup in Mauritania which took place on 12 December 1984. The coup was led by the Army Chief of Staff, Colonel Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya, who seized power in the capital Nouakchott while the President, Colonel Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla, was out of the country. Haidalla was attending a francophone summit in Bujumbura, Burundi.
Why is Palace coup in Mauritania significant?
The 1984 Mauritanian coup d'état was a bloodless military coup in Mauritania which took place on 12 December 1984.

Explore More