Morocco’s king appoints the country’s first-ever female prime minister

Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has appointed Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri as the country’s first-ever female prime minister, marking a historic moment for political representation in the North African nation.

El Mansouri, 50, was appointed on Tuesday after the September 23 parliamentary elections, in which her Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) emerged as the largest party in the 395-seat House of Representatives.

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 parliamentary elections.

El Mansouri is an experienced political figure who previously served as minister of national spatial planning, urban development and housing. She also served as mayor of Marrakech, becoming the first woman to hold the position when she was elected in 2009.

Her appointment makes her only the second woman to serve as prime minister in the Arab world, following Tunisia’s Najla Bouden, who held the position from 2021 to 2023.

PAM won 97 seats in the latest election but falls short of the 198 seats required for a parliamentary majority. El Mansouri will therefore need to work with other parties to form a coalition government.

The National Rally of Independents won 66 seats, while the Istiqlal Party secured 65 seats, making coalition negotiations central to the formation of the new government.

The new administration will also oversee preparations for the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which Morocco will co-host with Spain and Portugal.

El Mansouri’s appointment represents a significant milestone in Morocco’s political history and adds to the growing presence of women in senior leadership positions across Africa.

With the formation of a new coalition government now underway, attention will turn to how her administration translates the historic appointment into policies on economic growth, employment and national development.

TNAM