Famous people from Western Sahara
Here is a list of famous people from Western Sahara. Curious if anybody from Western Sahara made it our most famous people in the world list? Read the aformentioned article in order to find out.
Mariem Hassan
Blues Artist
Mariem Hassan, is a Sahrawi singer and lyricist from Western Sahara. She sings usually in Hassaniyya, an Arabic dialect spoken mostly in Western Sahara and Mauritania, and occasionally in Spanish. Her use of the Spanish language relates to the former status of Western Sahara as a Spanish colony.
El-Ouali Mustapha Sayed
Politician
El-Ouali Mustapha Sayed was a Sahrawi nationalist leader, co-founder and second Secretary-General of the Polisario Front. He was also the first President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.
Mahfoud Ali Beiba
Politician
Mahfoud Ali Beiba Hammad Dueihi was a Sahrawi politician and co-founder of the Polisario Front, a national liberation movement that seeks self-determination for Western Sahara. From 1975 until his death, he lived in exile in the refugee camps of Tindouf, Algeria.
Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla
Politician
Ret. Col. Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidallah was the head of state of Mauritania from 4 January 1980 to 12 December 1984. He was an unsuccessful candidate in the 2003 presidential election and the 2007 presidential election.
Mustapha Salma Ould Sidi Mouloud
Man
Mustapha Salma Ould Sidi Mouloud is a former police chief of the Polisario Front, and political dissident. He was abducted in 1979, and deported to Algeria. He studied physics, and Police officer school in Algiers in 1991. In 2010, following a family visit to Moroccan occupied Western Sahara, he announced on August 9, he wanted to open dialogue within the POLISARIO, on the Moroccan autonomy initiative for settling the conflict in Western Sahara. On August 30, 2010, he attempted to return to the Tindouf camps crossing the highly militarized Moroccan wall. He was detained by Sahrawi People's Liberation Army troops on September 21 at the liberated territories, and accused of high treason. M. Brahim Ghali, ambassador of the Sahrawi Arabic Democratic Republic in Algiers, described Mustapha Salma as a traitor. On October 8, 2010, there was a protest about the disappearance at the Embassy of Algeria in Washington, D.C. In October 2010, there was a report of his release. In December 2010, he was released to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees at the Western Sahara-Mauritania border. Since his release, Sidi Mouloud had stayed in Mauritania, not returning to Morocco or the Western Sahara, and he had not made any declaration.
Brahim Dahane
Human rights activist
Brahim Dahane is a Sahrawi human rights activist and President of the Sahrawi Association of Victims of Grave Human Rights Violations Committed by the Moroccan State, a human rights organization banned by Morocco.
Bahia Mahmud Awah
Journalist
Bahia Mahmud Awah is a Sahrawi writer, poet and journalist. He is a founding member of the group of writers known as the "Sahrawi Friendship Generation".
Mohammed Daddach
Democracy activist
Sidi Mohammed Daddach is a Sahrawi human rights activist imprisoned for 24 years. He is often called "North African Mandela" or "Sahrawi Mandela".
Mohamed Salama Badi
Diplomat
Mohamed Salama Badi is the current Sahrawi ambassador to Timor-Leste. He speaks Hassaniya, and Spanish.
Nayim Alal
Blues Artist
Nayim Alal is a singer, guitarist and writer of lyrics in Spanish from Western Sahara.
Elkouria Amidane
Woman
Elkouria Amidane is a Sahrawi student and human rights activist. Elkouria Amidane has over the years conducted non-violent struggle for Western Sahara self-determination and demonstrated for Saharawi student's rights.