Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz seized power in a 6 August 2008 coup d'état that deposed President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi. Abdel Aziz resigned from all political and military positions on 15 April 2009 so that he could stand as a candidate in the July 2009 presidential election, required by a constitutional regulation. Mbaré succeeded Abdel Aziz as head of state in an interim capacity, becoming the first black leader of Mauritania.