Morocco Appoints First Woman Prime Minister

TDT | Manama  

Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has appointed Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri as the country’s first woman Prime Minister and tasked her with forming a new government following the September 23 parliamentary elections.

El Mansouri leads the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), which emerged as the largest party in Morocco’s 395-seat House of Representatives, winning 97 seats.

The National Rally of Independents (RNI) secured 66 seats, while the Istiqlal Party won 65. The Justice and Development Party (PJD) secured 54 seats.

Under Article 47 of Morocco’s Constitution, the King appoints the head of government from the political party that wins the largest number of seats in the House of Representatives. The head of government then proposes members of the cabinet for appointment by the King.

With PAM falling short of a parliamentary majority, El Mansouri will need to negotiate with other parties to form a governing coalition. PAM had previously ruled out renewing its coalition with the RNI, but El Mansouri said after the election that the party would enter negotiations without predetermined exclusions.

The election recorded a turnout of about 38%, compared with around 50% in 2021. The new government will oversee the country’s preparations for the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which Morocco will co-host with Portugal and Spain, alongside economic and social programmes.

El Mansouri, born in Marrakech in 1976, is a lawyer by training. She studied private law at Mohammed V University before pursuing postgraduate studies at the University of Montpellier in France and further studies in business law at New York University in the United States.

She joined PAM during its early years and was elected mayor of Marrakech in 2009, becoming the first woman to lead the city. She served as mayor until 2015 and returned to the position following the 2021 elections. She was also elected to parliament in 2011, 2016 and 2021.

In October 2021, King Mohammed VI appointed El Mansouri Minister for National Territorial Planning, Urban Planning, Housing and City Policy in the government of Aziz Akhannouch. In February 2024, she was selected to coordinate PAM’s three-member collective leadership.

Her appointment makes her Morocco’s first woman Prime Minister and the second woman to head a government in the Arab world, following Tunisia’s Najla Bouden.