List of Famous people born in Mauritania

Mohamedou Ould Slahi is a Mauritanian man who was detained at Guantánamo Bay detention camp without charge from 2002 until his release on October 17, 2016.

Abderrahmane Sissako is a Mauritanian-born Malian film director and producer. His film Waiting for Happiness (Heremakono) was screened at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival official selection under Un Certain Regard, winning the FIPRESCI Prize. His 2007 film Bamako received much attention. Sissako's themes include globalisation, exile and the displacement of people. His 2014 film Timbuktu was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or in the main competition section at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival and nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Jidou El Moctar is a Mauritanian runner who competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the 200 m event. He was the flagbearer of Mauritania at the opening ceremony. El Moctar was eliminated in the first round but finished with a personal best time of 22.94 seconds.

Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya is a Mauritanian military officer who served as the president of Mauritania from 1984 to 2005. Having come to power through a military coup, he was ousted by a military coup himself in 2005. Prior to his presidency, he was the 5th Prime Minister of Mauritania between 1981 to 1992.

Ismaïl Ould Cheikh Ahmed is a Mauritanian diplomat and politician. He served as a United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen and was therefore head of the Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen from 25 April 2015 to February 2018.