Morocco appoints first female PM, second in Arab world
Photo: REUTERS
Morocco’s King Mohammed VI appointed Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri as the nation’s first female prime minister on Tuesday.
The 50-year-old urban planning minister and mayor of Marrakesh becomes only the second woman in the Arab world to assume this leadership position. The royal palace released a formal statement entrusting El Mansouri with the task of forming a new government.
Speaking during a televised address, El Mansouri reflected on the milestone. She said, “For the first time in our country’s history, a woman is taking on the responsibility of leading the government. This is a source of pride not only for me but for all Moroccan women.”
Her historic selection arrived four days after officials announced the election results from the previous week. El Mansouri’s monarchy-aligned Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) captured the highest vote count, securing 97 of the 395 seats in the House of Representatives, Morocco’s lower house of parliament.
Because PAM fell significantly short of the 198 seats required for an outright majority, building a governing coalition stands as El Mansouri’s primary task.
Fouad Ali El Himma, a close friend of the king, established PAM in 2008. Although PAM voiced willingness to collaborate across party lines, political groups such as the Justice and Development Party (PJD) and the Federation of Democratic Left publicly declared that they will remain in the opposition.
The emerging governing coalition will decide financial allocations for billions of dollars in investments ahead of the 2030 FIFA World Cup, an event that Morocco, Portugal, and Spain will primarily host. El Mansouri follows Najla Bouden of Tunisia, who served from October 2021 to August 2023, as the only other female prime minister in Arab world history.
Born in Marrakesh in 1976, El Mansouri built an extensive background in law. She earned a diploma in advanced studies from the University of Montpellier in France alongside a diploma in Anglo-Saxon business law from New York University in the United States.
Her career in local governance began early when voters elected her mayor of Marrakesh in 2009, making her the first woman to hold the city’s mayoralty. Following her initial term, she returned to lead the Marrakesh municipal council after the 2021 elections.
Over successive terms, she also accumulated substantial legislative experience as an elected member of the House of Representatives.
In October 2021, El Mansouri transitioned to national government upon her appointment as Minister of National Spatial Planning, Urban Development, Housing and Urban Policy.
Throughout her ministerial tenure, she directed several major initiatives, including the direct housing support program, key reforms linked to urban planning and spatial development, and the rehousing file for citizens affected by the Al Haouz earthquake.
Source: Al Jazeera (adapted)
