RABAT, Morocco — Morocco has appointed Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri as its first woman Prime Minister, marking a historic milestone in the country’s political history.
King Mohammed VI appointed El Mansouri on Tuesday, September 29, following the September 23 parliamentary elections in which her Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) emerged as the largest political party.
PAM secured 97 of the 395 seats in the House of Representatives, making it the leading party but leaving it short of the 198 seats required for a parliamentary majority. El Mansouri has therefore been tasked with negotiating with other parties to form a governing coalition.
The new prime minister, 50, is a lawyer and a prominent figure in Moroccan politics. She previously served as mayor of Marrakech and was a minister responsible for national territory planning, housing and urban policy in the outgoing government.
Her appointment follows Morocco’s constitutional system, under which the King appoints the head of government from the party that wins the largest number of seats in the House of Representatives.
El Mansouri now faces the immediate task of forming a coalition government and presenting her proposed administration for royal approval. Her government will also have to address economic and social concerns, while overseeing preparations for major investments and infrastructure linked to the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which Morocco will co-host with Spain and Portugal.
The appointment makes El Mansouri the first woman to lead Morocco’s government and only the second woman to serve as prime minister in the Arab world, after Tunisia’s Najla Bouden.
