RABAT — King Mohammed VI of Morocco has appointed Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri as the country’s first female prime minister and tasked her with forming a new government.
The appointment followed the September 23 parliamentary election, in which El Mansouri’s Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) emerged with the largest number of seats in the 395-member House of Representatives.
The Royal Palace announced the appointment on Tuesday, saying the King received El Mansouri at the Royal Palace in Rabat and appointed her head of government in accordance with the constitution.
PAM won 97 seats, ahead of the National Rally of Independents, which secured 66 seats, and the Istiqlal Party, which won 65. The results mean El Mansouri will need to form a coalition government.
Morocco is a constitutional monarchy in which the King retains significant powers. Under the constitution, the monarch appoints the head of government from the party that wins the largest number of seats in the House of Representatives.
El Mansouri, 50, is a lawyer and previously served as mayor of Marrakech. She was also minister responsible for national territory planning, urban planning, housing and city policy in the outgoing government.
Her appointment makes her the first woman to lead Morocco’s government and the second woman to serve as prime minister in the Arab world, after Tunisia’s Najla Bouden.
El Mansouri’s government will oversee preparations for the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which Morocco will co-host with Spain and Portugal, while also confronting economic and social challenges, including concerns over youth employment and public services.
