Morocco has named its first-ever female prime minister, and only the second woman to hold the position in the Arab world, following an election.
Urban planning minister Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri, who served as the mayor of Marrakech until her nomination, was asked to form a new government on Tuesday by King Mohammed VI.
It comes four days after the results of parliamentary elections were announced in Morocco, with Ms Mansouri’s centrist Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) winning 97 seats.
Its partners in the outgoing government, the liberal-centrist National Rally of Independents (RNI), came second with 66 seats.
Morocco’s King Mohammed VI receives Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri on Tuesday. Pic: Reuters
During the campaign, PAM ruled out staying in a coalition with the RNI, but Ms Mansouri has since said that she would have no “red lines” in negotiations.
Her government is expected to invest heavily in the FIFA World Cup, which Morocco is set to co-host in 2030, while seeking to combat inflation, boost wages, and create jobs.
Ms Mansouri, a law graduate from the University of Montpellier in France, joined PAM after its creation in 2008.
She became one of the party’s senior leaders in 2024, and has twice served as mayor of Marrakech and a member of parliament.
Ms Mansouri is the daughter of Abderrahmane El Mansouri, a local official who was Morocco’s ambassador to the United Arab Emirates.
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One million of the 15.8 million voters who participated in last week’s election cast their ballots for PAM, its first win since its inception.
It was the country’s first election since the Ceuta migration crisis in July, and youth-led protests last year which killed at least three people and left hundreds injured.
King Mohammed VI has appointed a female adviser in recent years, and women have risen to senior institutional roles in Morocco – including four female ministers in the outgoing administration.
