Fatimatou Abdel Malick

Fatimatou Mint Abdel Malick (born 1958) is a Mauritanian politician who has served as mayor of Tevragh-Zeina since 2001. She was the first woman in her country to hold the position of mayor. From 2012 to 2015 she served as president of The Network for Locally Elected Women of Africa (REFELA).

Fatimatou Abdel Malick
Fatimetou Abdel Malick in 2017
Mayor of Tevragh-Zeina
In office
2001–Present
Personal details
Born1958 (age 64–65)
Tamchakett, Mauritania
Political partyRepublican Party for Democracy and Renewal

Early life and education

Abdel Malik was born in 1958 in Tamchakett, where her father was an administrator.[1] She studied computer science in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.[1]

Career

Abdel Malik ran a computer services office, MINFE, in Nouakchott before working as the network administrator for Habitat Bank.[1][2] She then worked at the Ministry of Urban Planning and Habitat before being appointed to the Prime Minister's Office.[2]

In 2001, Abdel Malick was asked to run for municipal office by the then Democratic and Social Republican Party, and she was elected mayor of Tevragh-Zeina, one of the nine communes of the Nouakchott Urban Community.[1][3][4] She was the first woman to serve as a mayor in Mauritania.[5] She has improved school education, particularly for girls, and reformed the administration.[6] She was re-elected in 2006, 2011 and 2015.[2][6]

From 2012 until December 2015, Abdel Malick served as the president of the Network for Locally Elected Women of Africa.[7] The network, formed in Tangier in March 2011, brings together women elected in local government positions.[7][8][9] Abdel Malick has travelled throughout Mauritania to support female candidates for office and has seen five more women join her as mayors, including Maty Mint Hamady.[1]

In 2023, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres appointed Abdel Malick to co-chair his Advisory Group on Local and Regional Governments, alongside Pilar Cancela Rodríguez.[10]

Awards and honours

Personal life

Abdel Malick is a single mother to three children.[1] She is a Muslim.[6]

References
  1. Faujas, Alain (10 September 2015). "Fatimetou Abdel Malik, première femme maire de Mauritanie". Jeune Afrique (in French). Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  2. "Fatimetou Abdel Malik" (in French). Leaders Afrique.
  3. Borenstein, Seth; Charlton, Angela; Ritter, Karl (4 December 2015). "Odd climate math: The difference between 2 degree and 1.5 degree goal much bigger than 0.5". US News. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  4. "Daily report of the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR)". International Institute for Sustainable Development. Prevention Web. 18 March 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  5. "Femmes élues dans le monde : focus sur 13 politiques engagées". Elle. 31 January 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  6. Rheinheimer, Elisa (15 June 2016). "Role model for Africa's women". Qantara.de. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  7. "La camerounaise Célestine Ketcha Courtès accède au trône du Refela". Le Bled Parle (in French). 4 December 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  8. Aaron, Onana N. (2 December 2015). "Diplomatie: Célestine Ketcha Courtès prend les rênes du Réseau des Femmes Elues Locales d'Afrique (REFELA)". Africa Presse (in French). Archived from the original on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  9. Barma Aboutbacar, Yacouba (2016). "Interview with Mrs Courtes Ketcha Celestine, Mayor of Bangangté and President of the Network for Locally Elected Women of Africa (REFELA): Woman Mayors at the heart" (PDF). African Cities. Vol. 5. pp. 45–46. Retrieved 2017-03-19.
  10. Local and Regional Engagement, Action and Multi-Level Cooperation Are Vital to Rescue SDGs and Contribute to Topics under the Summit of Future United Nations, press release of 6 October 2023.
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