Cheikh Ahmed Ould Zahaf was appointed Permanent Representative of Mauritania to the United Nations Office at Geneva 3 August 2010.

Prior to his appointment to Geneva, Mr. Ould Zahaf had been serving since 2007 as a consultant for several institutions. In 2010 he was in charge of elaborating and following up a communications strategy for the Project for the Eradication of the After-effects of Slavery and also served as a consultant for the United Nations Development Programme's programme for conflict prevention and management. From 2008 to 2009 he was a consultant for the Banc d'Arguin National Park and was tasked with the development and follow-up of an education strategy for children. He also served since 2007 as a consultant tasked with the training of elected representatives as part of a project of the German Technical Cooperation for Development Agency supporting decentralization.

Mr. Ould Zahaf began his career with the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs in 1998 as a counsellor for social affairs. In 1999 he served as Secretary-General of the Ministry of Civil Servants, Labour, Youth and Sports. From 1999 to 2001 he was Minister for Hydraulics and Energy and in this capacity was also a member of the Senegal River Basin Development Authority. From 2002 to 2003 he was Director-General of the National Tourist Office.

Mr. Ould Zahaf holds a teaching diploma from the Nouakchott Ecole Normale Superieur (1987) and worked as a teacher in philosophy, educational psychology and sociology from 1987 to 1993.

Born in 1962, Mr. Ould Zahaf is married with five children.