Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has named Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri as the country’s first female prime minister, in what could mean a step away from strict Islamic values.
Especially as El Mansouri becomes the second-woman ever appointed in the Arab world to serve in the position after Najla Bouden’s tenure in Tunisia from October 2021 to August 2023.
Announcing her appointment in a statement on Tuesday, the royal palace charged the new PM to form a government.
El Mansouri, a 50-year-old urban planning minister and the mayor of Marrakesh, in turn, affirmed in a televised address that her appointment was “truly historic”.
“For the first time in our country’s history, a woman is taking on the responsibility of leading the government,” she said. “This is a source of pride not only for me but for all Moroccan women.”
The appointment came four days after the results of last week’s elections were announced, with El Mansouri’s monarchy-aligned Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) winning the most votes to secure 97 of the 395 seats in the House of Representatives, Morocco’s lower house of parliament.
PAM fell well short of the 198 seats needed for an outright majority and will need to build a coalition in order to govern, which will be El Mansouri’s first task.
PAM, founded in 2008 by Fouad Ali El Himma, a friend of the king, has expressed its willingness to work with all parties. But some, including the Justice and Development Party (PJD) and Federation of Democratic Left, have announced they will remain in the opposition.
This governing coalition will decide allocations for billions of dollars in investments ahead of the 2030 FIFA World Cup, scheduled to be primarily hosted by Morocco, Portugal and Spain.
Born in Marrakesh in 1976, El Mansouri studied law, obtaining a diploma in advanced studies from the University of Montpellier in France, as well as a diploma in Anglo-Saxon business law from New York University in the United States.
She entered local governance early, when she was elected mayor of Marrakesh in 2009, becoming the first woman to hold the city’s mayoralty.
After the end of her first term, she returned to lead the Marrakesh municipal council following the 2021 elections. She also accumulated parliamentary experience, being elected as a member of the House of Representatives over successive terms.
In October 2021, El Mansouri moved into national government, appointed as Minister of National Spatial Planning, Urban Development, Housing and Urban Policy.
During her tenure, this portfolio was associated with a number of key files, including the direct housing support programme, reforms linked to urban planning and spatial development and the file on rehousing those affected by the Al Haouz earthquake.
