Colonel Ely Ould Mohamed Vall ( I‘lī Wald Muḥammad Fāl; 1953 – 5 May 2017) was a Mauritanian political and military figure. Following a coup d'état in August 2005, he served as the transitional military leader of Mauritania until 19 April 2007, when he relinquished power to an elected government. Life and career Born in Nouakchott in 1953, Vall was a long-time ally of President Maaouya Ould Taya, and participated in the December 1984 coup that brought Ould Taya himself to power. Prior to the 2005 coup, he had been director of the national police force, the Sûreté Nationale, since 1987. On 3 August 2005, Ould Taya was ousted in a bloodless military coup while he was out of the country. A group of officers took power as the Military Council for Justice and Democracy and announced that Vall was the head of the council. He did not take the title of President because he said it should be reserved for elected leaders. The new regime, condemning Ould Taya's government as "totalitarian", promised to lead the country to elections and the restoration of civilian rule within two years; a referendum on a new constitution was planned to be held within a year, and parliamentary and presidential elections would follow. Vall and the other members of the military council agreed not to run for president. The coup was welcomed by a part of the population, but outside the country there was sharp condemnation. The African Union (which suspended Mauritania's membership), the European Union, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, and the United States all condemned the coup. However, this opposition weakened after several days and the regime appeared to win tacit international acceptance. Vall maintained Mauritania's diplomatic relationship with Israel. Mauritania and Israel initiated full diplomatic relations in 1999 under Taya, a decision which contributed to the latter's unpopularity. After the coup, Ahmed Ould Sid'Ahmed, who had been Foreign Minister at the time diplomatic relations were established, was reappointed to the position. The constitutional referendum was held on June 25, 2006 and approved by 97% of voters. The 2006 constitution limits presidents to two five-year terms (under Taya, presidential terms had lasted six years and there was no limit on re-election) and requires a president to swear not to change the term limits (several other African countries have seen term limits removed from their constitutions so that presidents could continue to