[1] Saleh Ould Hanenna served in the Mauritanian Army and rose to the rank of Major before being officially dismissed in 2000.
He commanded a rebel section of the Army during two days of heavy fighting in Nouakchott which caused the death of dozens of people.
[4][5] The Government of Mauritania accused Saleh Ould Hanenna of attempting to organize coups on two further occasions, in August and September 2004,[6][7] with the alleged backing of Libya and Burkina Faso.
[11] The Military Council for Justice and Democracy (CMJD) which subsequently took charge of the government released Ould Hanenna in a general amnesty in early September.
[12] On January 9, 2007, Ould Hanenna, the president of the Mauritanian Union for Change (HATEM), was unanimously chosen by that party's executive committee as its candidate in the March 2007 presidential election.