Who led Mauritania’s first elected government during the move toward independence?

Moktar Ould Daddah led Mauritania’s first government during the transition to independence. After being elected to the territorial assembly in 1957, he became president of the Executive Council in 1958 and served as prime minister in 1959. Following the country's attainment of independence, he became the first president of Mauritania in 1961, a position he held until 1978.1