Mauritania junta names respected diplomat as PM

(Adds opposition party to get ministries, diplomat quote)

By Hachem Sidi Salem

NOUAKCHOTT, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Mauritania's new ruling military junta appointed as prime minister on Thursday a respected former ambassador to Belgium and the European Union.

Moulaye Ould Mohamed Laghdaf, named in a decree published by state media, has previously supported both ousted President Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi and the main opposition party, which has thrown its weight firmly behind the coup leaders.

General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, who toppled Abdallahi in a bloodless coup last week, has promised to appoint a government before holding fresh presidential elections in the oil-producing northwest African country.

Appointing the respected diplomat and bringing civilian parties into government appeared calculated to strengthen his political grip over Mauritania as well as win international approval for what has been an unpopular coup abroad, a fellow diplomat said.

Abdallahi was overthrown during a political crisis in which he had named two governments in quick succession before sacking the heads of the armed forces last week. He has been in detention at a secret location ever since.

The new premier, Laghdaf, supported Abdallahi's campaign ahead of the country's first free democratic elections last year. But he has also previously supported the main opposition Rally of Democratic Forces (RFD), whose veteran leader Ahmed Ould Daddah lost a January 2007 run-off vote to Abdallahi.

Daddah was one of the first politicians to meet Abdel Aziz after last week's coup, and met with him again on Tuesday as the junta chief began talks on forming a government.

The RFD will get five government ministries, said an RFD member of parliament who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Laghdaf served as ambassador to Belgium, including the Brussels-based European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, under the military administration formed after a coup in 2005.

Polls held in 2006 and 2007 were widely hailed as ushering in a new era after decades of army coups and authoritarian rule.

"Internationally speaking it's a strategic nomination because he is pro-European and he knows how Brussels works," said a fellow former diplomat who also declined to be named.

Mauritania is of increasing importance to the U.S.-sponsored campaign against Islamist militants in the Sahara after a spate of al Qaeda attacks in the past year.

Foreign companies are also increasing their production of iron ore, copper, gold and other valuable minerals.

Last week's military takeover drew harsh criticism from many quarters. The African Union suspended Mauritania while the United States and France halted development aid.

But within Mauritania, a largely desert country lying between the western edge of the Sahara, many people have supported the coup as a way to end a presidency tarnished by institutional chaos and a lack of financial transparency.

Abdel Aziz has sent delegations to fellow Arab and African countries, hoping to explain his reasons for staging the coup.

Regional heavyweight Algeria rebuffed him, but rival Morocco and the Arab League accepted Abdel Aziz as leader. (Additional reporting by Vincent Fertey; Writing by Alistair Thomson; Editing by Jon Boyle)