Abdelkader Taleb Omar

Abdelkader Taleb Omar (Arabic: عبد القادر طالب عمر; born 1951^{[citation needed]}) is a Sahrawi politician and diplomat currently serving as the Minister of Education and Vocational Training of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic since 2025.^[1] He was ambassador to Algeria from 2018 to 2025, and previously served as Prime Minister.^[2][3]

Abdelkader Taleb Omar
عبد القادر طالب عمر
Omar in 2015
Minister of Education and Vocational Training
Incumbent
Assumed office 24 May 2025
President	Brahim Ghali
Preceded by	Khatri Addouh
Sahrawi Ambassador to Algeria
In office 17 March 2018 – 18 May 2025
President	Brahim Ghali
Preceded by	Bouchraya Hammoudi Bayoun
Succeeded by	Khatri Addouh
Prime Minister of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
In office 29 October 2003 – 4 February 2018
President	Mohamed Abdelaziz Khatri Addouh (Interim) Brahim Ghali
Preceded by	Bouchraya Hammoudi Bayoun
Succeeded by	Mohamed Wali Akeik
President of the Sahrawi National Council
In office 1995–1999
President	Mohamed Abdelaziz
Preceded by	Mohamed Lamine Ould Ahmed
Succeeded by	Salem Lebsir
Personal details
Born	1951 (age 73–74)[citation needed] El-Aaiún, Spanish Sahara
Political party	Polisario Front

Career

Omar is a Polisario Front veteran who has lived in exile in the Tindouf province, Algeria since 1975. He has held several ministerial posts in previous governments, served as speaker of the Sahrawi National Council (the parliament in exile) in the 1995-1999 period,^[4] and also as Wali (Governor) of the Smara refugee camp, near Tindouf.^[5]

He was named to that post of Prime Minister by SADR president Mohamed Abdelaziz, in the framework of the XI General Popular Congress held in Tifariti on 29 October 2003,^[5] and re-appointed again to that post in early 2012.^[4]

Omar was widely tipped to be the favorite to succeed Mohamed Abdelaziz, to the post of president in 2015, with the Algerian Département du Renseignement et de la Sécurité considered to be preferring him over other candidates. But Abdelkader ruled himself out, paving way for Brahim Ghali, who was serving as the ambassador in Algiers at that time, and was also considered to be close to the Algerian DRS to ascend to that post.^{[6][unreliable source?][7]}

Omar is widely perceived as a liberal, arguing for a return of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara to Sahrawi territories, as a preclude to the referendum, unlike many other Polisario Front leaders who would prefer an armed resistance against Morocco.^[8][9]