Western Sahara
-
- to 26 Feb 1976
(Spain)
|
-
- Adopted 27 Feb
1976 SADR Flag
|
-
- SADR Flag Reverse
|
-
- SADR Flag
(Alternate)
|
-
- From 26 Feb 1976
(Morocco)
|
-
-
|
Map
of Western Sahara |
Hear
National Anthem
"Ya
Baniy As-Sahara"
(O Sons of the Sahara)
|
Text
of National Anthem
Adopted 1976 |
Constitution
(28 Feb 1976/4 Sep 1999;
in French)
|
Capital:
Laayoune
(El-Aaiún)
(Villa Cisneros 1884-1934,
Cabo Juby 1934-1949,
Villa Bens 1949-1958)
SADR Capital: Bir Lehlou
(provisional) (El Aaiun official;
Polisario HQ: Tindouf, Algeria)
|
Currency:
Moroccan Dirham
(MAD); SADR Currency:
Algerian Dinar
(DZD) and
from 1990 Saharawi Peseta
(EHP); 1884-1976 Spanish
Peseta (ESP) |
SADR
National Holiday:
27 Feb (1976)
Eid al-Istiklaal
(Independence Day) |
Population:
652,271 (2019)
73,497 (1974)
|
GDP: $906.5 million
(2007) |
Exports: $ N/A
Imports: $ N/A
|
Ethnic
groups: Arab, Berber
(Amazigh) |
Moroccan Armed
Forces: 160,000 (2004)
POLISARIO Armed Forces:
36,000 (2002 est.)
UN MINURSO Force: 486
(2019)
Morocco Controls Defense
Merchant marine:
None (2019)
|
Religions:
Muslim 99.4%, Christian 0.16%,
non-religious 0.31%
(2000)
|
International
Organizations/Treaties SADR: AfCFTA, AU, CAN
(observer), IFRCS (observer), NAM
(guest), SI (observer), WFTU |
Western
Sahara
Index
|
Chronology
11th cent. - 19th cent.
Part of Morocco.
1478 - 1526
Castile/Spanish settlement at Santa
Cruz de la
Mar Pequeña (the
modern location of which
remains disputed).
7 Jun
1494
Spanish-Portuguese Treaty of
Tordesillas, Portugal
agrees Spain has the right to occupy Río
de Oro
between Cape Bojador (Boujador)
and Cape Blanc.
26 Apr
1860
Río de Oro and Ifni ceded to Spain by
Morocco in
Treaty of Wad-Ras
(Tetuan)(not occupied by
Spain).
19 Apr
1879
Donald Mackenzie and the North-West
Africa Company
Ltd. establish a trading post at Cape
Juby
(Tarfaya), named Port Victoria, under
agreement
with Sheikh Mohamed bin Beyruk (d.
1883).
9 Feb
1883
The Sociedad Española de
Africanistas y Colonistas
& Compañía Mercantil
Hispano-Africana
anchors
the Ines, a warehouse on pontoons, off
the
Río de Oro coast at future Villa
Cisneros.
3 Nov
1884
Villa Cisneros (Dakhla)
settlement founded.
28 Nov
1884
Treaty of protection signed with the
chieftains
of Saharawi tribes in Río de Oro.
26 Dec
1884
Spain formally declares a protectorate
over the
Río de Oro coast between Cape Blanc
(20° 51'N)
and Cape Bojador (26° 8'N).
26 Feb
1885
Spanish claim to Río de Oro recognized
by Treaty
of Berlin.
10 Jul
1885
Spanish protectorate declared over the
coast from
Cape Bojador to Cape Blanc.- 6
Apr 1887 - 29 Aug
1934 Spanish
Río de Oro coast protectorate
is
-
subordinate to captains-general of Canary
Islands
- 24 Feb
1895
Sultan of Morocco cedes Cape Juby
to Spain.
13 Mar
1895
Anglo-Moroccan Agreement sells the
North-West
Africa Company post at Cape Juby
to Morocco.
27 Jun
1900
Franco-Spanish Convention
(together with a
further convention on 27 Nov 1912)
establishes
the borders of Spanish Sahara with
Mauritania.
1904 - Jul
1909
Rebellion of Muhamed Mustafa wuld
Sheikh Muhammad
Fadil bin Mamin al-Qalqami "Ma´
al-`Aynayn"
(b. 1831 - d. 1910) at Smara in
Saguia el Hamra.
3 Oct
1904
Saguia el Hamra annexed by Spain.
27 Nov 1912 - 7 Apr
1956 Spanish Morocco
protectorate in so-called Southern
Zone (Cape Juby [Tarfaya] strip,
Tétouan and Rif)
29 Jul
1916
Spain occupies Cape Juby (1949
renamed Villa Bens)
(Tarfaya).
29 Nov
1920
Spain occupies La Agüera
(Lagouira).
15 Jul
1934
Spain occupies Smara and goes on
to occupy Aargub
and Daora in the interior of the
Sahara.
29 Aug
1934
The High Commissioners for Spanish
Morocco become
governors-general of Infi, Saguia
el Hamra and
Río de Oro (Territory of Sahara;
from 17 May 1940
Territories of Ifni and Sahara).
18 Sep
1936
Spanish Nationalist forces take
control.
1938
Spain establishes El Aaiún
(Laayoune).
- 20 Jul
1946
Spanish West Africa (África
Occidental Española)
(Ifni,
Rio de Oro, Saguia
el Hamra) established.
- 1
Jul
1957
Mauritania first officially claims
Western Sahara.
12 Nov
1957
Morocco officially claims all
Spanish West Africa.
23 Nov 1957 - 25
Feb 1958 Moroccan irregular
occupation of parts of Spanish
Sahara (Edchera to 13 Jan 1958,
Tan-Tan to Feb
1958, Tafurdat and Smara to 10 Feb
1958, Bir
Nazaran and Ausert to 21 Feb 1958).
10 Jan
1958
Spanish Sahara (Sáhara Español)
overseas province
of Spain (Saguia el Hamra and Rio de
Oro).
2 Apr
1958
Tarfaya (Cape Juby) & Tan-tan
(the Cabe Juby strip,
between Oued Draa & parallel of
27° 40') restored
to Morocco by Spain in Treaty of
Angra de Cintra.
14 Dec
1961
Spanish Sahara renamed
Sahara.
29 Apr
1973
The Frente Para la Liberación de
Saguia Al Hamra y
-
Rio de Oro
(Popular Front for the Liberation of
-
Saguia el Hamra and Rio
de Oro (Polisario) is
-
founded at
Zouerate (Mauritania) to obtain
-
independence for
Western Sahara.
16 Oct
1975
International Court of Justice
advisory opinion
declares that Western Sahara has
historical links
with Morocco and Mauritania, but
contradicts
Moroccan and Mauritanian claims to
sovereignty
over Sahara and rejects the view of
the territory
as terra nullis upon
colonization, rather that it
belonged to its inhabitants.
31 Oct
1975
Morocco occupies outposts evacuated
by Spain.
6 Nov
1975
Morocco launches the "Green March"
into Sahara.
19 Nov
1975
Spain agrees to establish an interim
tripartite
(Spain-Morocco-Mauritania)
administration, with
Spanish administration terminated by
28 Feb 1976.
11 Dec
1975
Morocco occupies El Aaiún (Laayoune)
and proclaims
-
Sahara
annexed.
20 Dec
1975
Mauritania occupies Tichla and La
Güera (Lagouira).
26 Feb
1976
Spain terminates its administration.
27 Feb
1976
Saharan (Sahrawi) Arab Democratic
Republic (SADR)¹
proclaimed by Polisario in interior
regions.
14 Apr
1976
Sahara is partitioned between Morocco
and
Mauritania
(Mauritanian sector organized as wilaya
-
[region] of Tiris al-Gharbiyya
[Western Tiris];
-
the Moroccan sector is
organized into Boujdour,
-
Laâyoune, and Es-Semara
provinces [wilayas]).
5 Aug
1979
Mauritania renounces to its claims
on Western Sahara
-
and cedes all its
rights of the Madrid Agreement
-
to SADR. Mauritania
evacuates Western Sahara
-
(except for a small
garrison at La Güera). Morocco
-
begins the take over
the Mauritanian-controlled
-
part of Western Sahara.
14 Aug
1979
Former Mauritanian territory is
annexed by Morocco
-
and renamed Oued ed-Dahab.
2 Mar
1981
Morocco completes first stretch of
berm (defensive
wall) between Smara and the Zini
Mountains.
6 Sep 1991
- 13 Nov 2020 United Nations
(MINURSO) monitored cease-fire
-
implemented.
13 Nov 2020 -
Morocco sends forces into Guerguerat
demilitarized
area
in the southern UN patrolled buffer
zone
(following a Sahrawi roadblock begun
in Oct 2020)
to enforce free movement between
Moroccan-
controlled territory and Mauritania.
|
SADR
Map
|
Historical
Maps of
Western
Sahara
|
Map of Expansion
of Moroccan
Control
(1982-1989)
|
SADR Diplomatic
Recognition List |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Governors-general of the Territories of Ifni,
Spanish Sahara and Rio de Oro
(from 20 Jul 1946, Governors-general
of Spanish West Africa)
29 Aug 1934 - 7 Apr 1956 the
Spanish High Commissioners
for Morocco
Commandant
3 Nov 1884 - 10 Jul 1885
Emilio Bonelli
Hernando
(b. 1855 - d. 1926)
Royal Commissioner on
the West Coast of Africa
10 Jul 1885 - 6 Apr 1887
Emilio Bonelli
Hernando
(s.a.)
(arrives in Rio de Oro on 26 Aug 1885)
Political and Military Subgovernors of
Rio de Oro
(subordinated to the captains-general of
the Canary
Islands)
6 Apr 1887 -
bf.1902 Emilio Bonelli
Hernando
(s.a.)
1902 - 1 Dec 1903
Ángel Villalobos
1 Dec 1903 - 1913
Francisco Bens
Argandoña
(b. 1867 - d. 1949)
Delegates of the High Commissioner in the
Southern Zone of the Spanish
Protectorate in Morocco
(subordinated to Spanish High
Commissioners for Morocco)
1913 - 7 Nov 1925
Francisco Bens
Argandoña
(s.a.)
7 Nov 1925 - 19 Jun 1932
Guillermo de la Peña y Cusi
(b. 1877 - d. 19..)
19 Jun 1932 - 30 Aug 1933 Eduardo Cañizares
Navarro (b. 1896 - d.
1980)
30 Aug 1933 - 1 Jul 1934 José
González Deleito
(d. 1959)
1 Jul 1934 - 29 Aug 1934
Benigno Martínez Portillo
(d. 1936)
Government delegates in the Sahara
(subordinated to Spanish
High Commissioners for Morocco)
29 Aug 1934 - 4 May 1936 Benigno
Martínez Portillo
(s.a.)
4 May 1936 - 7 Aug
1936 Carlos Pedemonte Sabin
(b. 1895 - d. 1972)
7 Aug 1936 - 12 Mar 1937
Rafael Gallego Sainz
(b. 1898 - d. 1937)
12 Mar 1937 - 17 May 1940 Antonio de Oro
Pulido
(b. 1904 - d. 1940)
Politico-Military Governor of
Ifni and the Sahara and Delegate
of the High
Commissioner in the Southern
Zone of the Spanish Protectorate in Morocco
(subordinated to Spanish
High Commissioners for Morocco)
17 May 1940 - 24 Jul 1946
José Bermejo López
(b. 1894 - d. 1971)
Governors of the Government of Spanish West
Africa
24 Jul 1946 - 17 Aug 1949 José Bermejo López
(s.a.)
17 Aug 1949 - 29 Mar 1952 Francisco
Rosaleny Burguet
(b. 1890 - d. 1973)
29 Mar 1952 - 26 Feb 1954 Venancio Tutor
Gil
(d. 1959)
26 Feb 1954 - 23 May 1957 Ramón Pardo de
Santayana y Suárez (d. 1967)
23 May 1957 - 10 Jan 1958 Mariano Gómez
Zamalloa y Quirce (b. 1897 - d. 1973)
Governors-general of Spanish Sahara
10 Jan 1958 - 22 Jul 1958 José Héctor
Vázquez
(b. 1903 - d. 1977)
27 Jul 1958 - 6 Oct 1961 Mariano
Alonso
Alonso
(b. 1899 - d. 1974)
13 Oct 1961 - 21 Feb 1964 Pedro Latorre
Alcubierre
(b. 1900 - d. 1995)
6 Mar 1964 - 5 Nov
1965 Joaquín Agulla y Jiménez-Coronado (b.
1903 - d. 1971)
5 Nov 1965 - 26 Nov 1965
Adolfo Artalejo Campos
(b. 1905 - d. 1965)
5 Dec 1965 - 2 Feb
1967 Ángel Enríquez Larrondo
(b. 1905 - d. 1997)
18 Feb 1967 - 4 Mar 1971 José María
Pérez de Lema Tejero (b. 1908 - d. 1984)
4 Mar 1971 - 6 Jun
1974 Fernando de Santiago y Díaz
de (b. 1910 - d. 1994)
Mendívil
6 Jun 1974 - 6 Feb
1976 Federico Gómez de Salazar y Nieto (b.
1912 - d. 2006)
23 Jan 1976 - 26 Feb 1976 Representatives
in the Interim
Tripartite Administration
+ Rafael de Valdés Iglesias (Spain)(b. 1923 - d.
1995) Mil
+ Ahmed
Bensouda (Morocco) (b. 1920
- d. 2008) PI
+ Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh
(b. 1938 - d. 2020)
Non-party
Abdallahi
(Mauritania)
Chairmen of the Revolutionary Council
27 Feb 1976 - 9 Jun 1976 El Wali
Mustafa
Sayed
(b. 1948 - d. 1976) POLISARIO
10 Jun 1976 - 30 Aug 1976 Mahfoud Ali
Beiba
(acting)
(b. 1953 - d. 2010) POLISARIO
Chairman of the Revolutionary Command
Council
30 Aug 1976 - 16 Oct 1982 Mohamed
Abdelaziz
(b. 1947 - d. 2016) POLISARIO
Presidents
16 Oct 1982 - 31 May 2016 Mohamed
Abdelaziz
(s.a.)
POLISARIO
31 May 2016 - 12 Jul 2016 Khatri Addouh
(acting)
(b. 1956)
POLISARIO
12 Jul 2016
-
Ibrahim
Ghali
(b.
1949)
POLISARIO
Prime ministers
5 Mar 1976 - 4 Nov
1982 Mohamed Lamine Ould
Ahmed
(b. 1947)
POLISARIO
(1st time)
4 Nov 1982 - 18 Dec 1985
Mahfoud Ali Beiba (1st
time)
(s.a.)
POLISARIO
18 Dec 1985 - 16 Aug 1988 Mohamed Lamine
Ould
Ahmed
(s.a.)
POLISARIO
(2nd time)
16 Aug 1988 - 18 Sep 1993 Mahfoud Ali
Beiba (2nd time)
(s.a.)
POLISARIO
19 Sep 1993 - 8 Sep 1995 Bushraya
Hammudi Bayun (1st time) (b. 1954)
POLISARIO
(= Bouchraya Hammoudi Bayoun)
8 Sep 1995 - 10 Feb 1999
Mahfoud Ali Beiba (3rd
time)
(s.a.)
POLISARIO
10 Feb 1999 - 29 Oct 2003 Bushraya
Hammudi Bayun (2nd time) (s.a.)
POLISARIO
29 Oct 2003 - 4 Feb 2018 Abdelkader
Taleb
Omar
(b. 1951)
POLISARIO
4 Feb 2018 - 13 Jan 2020 Mohamed Wali
Akeik
(b.
1950)
POLISARIO
13 Jan 2020
-
Bushraya Hammudi Bayun (3rd time)
(s.a.)
POLISARIO
Commanders of the UN Mission for Referendum in Western
Sahara (MINURSO)
5 Sep 1991 - 24 Apr 1992 Armand Roy
(Canada)
(b. 1942)
25 Apr 1992 - 1 Oct 1992 Luis
Alberto Block Urban (Peru)
(acting)
1 Oct 1992 - 30 Mar 1996
André Van Baelen (Belgium)
1 Apr 1996 - 30 Nov 1996 José
Eduardo Martinho Garcia
(b. 1940)
Léandro (Portugal)
30 Nov 1996 - 21 Jul 1997 Jorge Barroso de
Moura (Portugal) (b. 1939)
1 Aug 1997 - 30 Oct 1999 Bernd S.
Lubenik (Austria)
16 Nov 1999 - 10 Aug 2002 Claude Buze
(Belgium)
(b. 1944)
11 Aug 2002 - 11 Aug 2005 György
Száraz (Hungary)
(b. 1946?)
12 Aug 2005 - 27 Aug 2007 Kurt
Mosgaard (Denmark)
(b. 1954)
(acting to 12 Sep 2005)
28 Aug 2007 - 4 Apr 2011 Jingmin
Zhao (China)
(b. 1954)
10 Apr 2011 - 23 Jul 2013 Abdul Hafiz
(Bangladesh) (b.
1957)
27 Aug 2013 - 17 Sep 2015 Imam Edy Mulyono
(Indonesia) (b.
1961)
18 Sep 2015 - 7 Nov 2016 Muhammad Tayyab
Azam (Pakistan) (b. 1966)
8 Dec 2017 - 17 Feb 2019 Wang Xiaojun
(China)
(b. 1959)
20 Feb 2019
-
Zia Ur Rehman (Pakistan)
(b. 1969)
¹Morocco retains de facto control,
however the SADR is currently has diplomatic relations
and is recognized by 45 countries and the African Union
(1982 [to 2002 Organization of African Unity]): Algeria
(1976), Angola (1976), Belize (1986), Bolivia (1982),
Botswana (1980), Cape
Verde (1979-2007, 2012), Chad
(1980-1997, 2007), Cuba (1980), East Timor
(2002), Ecuador (1983-2004, 2006), El Salvador
(1989-97, 2009), Ethiopia (1979), Ghana
(1979), Guyana (1979), Honduras
(1989), Iran (1980), Jamaica (1979), Laos
(1979), Kenya (2005-2006, 2014), Lesotho
(1979), Libya (1980), Malawi
(1994-2002, 2008, 2012), Mali (1984),
Mauritania (1984), Mexico (1979), Mozambique (1976),
Namibia (1990), Nicaragua (1979-2000, 2007),
Nigeria (1984), North Korea (1976), Rwanda
(1976), Sierra Leone
(1980-2003, 2011), South Africa (2004), South
Sudan (2011), Suriname (1982), Syria (1980), Tanzania
(1978), Trinidad & Tobago (1986), Uganda (1979),
Uruguay (2005), Vanuatu (1980-2000, 2008),
Venezuela (1982), Vietnam (1979), Zambia
(1979-2011, 2012), Zimbabwe (1980);
--- former diplomatic recognition's:
Afghanistan (1979-2002), Albania (1987-2004), Antigua
& Barbuda (1987-2010), Barbados
(1988-2013), Benin (1976-97), Burkina Faso
(1984-96), Burundi (1976-2006, 2008-10),
Cambodia (1979-2006), Colombia (1985-2000),
Congo (Brazzaville) (1978-96), Costa Rica
(1980-2000), Dominica (1979-2010), Dominican
Republic (1986-2002), Equatorial Guinea (1978-80), Grenada
(1979-2010), Guatemala (1986-98),
Guinea-Bissau (1976-97, 2009-10),
Haiti (2006-13), India (1985-2000),
Kiribati (1981-2000), Liberia (1985-97),
Madagascar (1976-2005), Mauritius
(1982-2014), Nauru (1981-2000), Panama
(1978-2013), Papua New Guinea
(1981-2011), Paraguay (2000,
2008-2014), Peru (1984-96), St. Kitts
& Nevis (1987-2010), St. Lucia (1979-2010),
St. Vincent & the Grenadines (2002-13), São
Tomé & Príncipe (1978-96), Seychelles
(1977-2008), Solomon Islands (1981-89), South
Yemen (1977-90), Swaziland (1980-97), Togo (1976-97),
Tuvalu (1981-2000), Yugoslavia ([from
2003 Serbia & Montenegro]
1984-2004)
Territorial Disputes: Morocco claims
and administers Western Sahara, whose sovereignty
remains unresolved; UN-administered cease-fire has
remained in effect from 6 Sep 1991 to 13 Nov 2020,
administered by the UN Mission for the Referendum in
Western Sahara (MINURSO), but attempts to hold a
referendum have failed and parties thus far have
rejected all brokered proposals; many
neighboring states reject Moroccan administration of
Western Sahara; several states have extended diplomatic
relations to the "Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic"
represented by the Polisario Front in exile in Algeria,
while others, support Morocco's proposal to grant the
territory autonomy as part of Morocco, although no state
(except the U.S from 10 Dec 2020) recognizes
Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara; an estimated
100,000 Sahrawi refugees continue to be sheltered in
camps in Tindouf, Algeria, which has hosted Sahrawi
refugees since the 1980s.
Party abbreviations: POLISARIO
= Frente Popular de Liberación de Seguía el-Hamra y Río
de Oro/ Al-Yabhat Al-Sha'abiyyah li-Tahrir Saqiya
al-Hamra' wa Wadi al-Dhahab (Popular Front for the
Liberation of Saguia el Hamra and Rio de Oro, Sahrawi
nationalist, democratic socialist,
Islamic socialist, only legal party of SADR, est.29 Apr
1973); PI = Hizb
al-Istiqlal/Parti d'Independence
(Independence Party "Istiqlal",
Moroccan nationalist, center-right, monarchist,
est.1944); Mil = Military
© Ben Cahoon
|