Rabat, Sept 29. (dpa/GNA) – For the first time in its history, Morocco is set to have a woman at the head of government, after King Mohammed VI appointed Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri to the post and tasked her with forming a new Cabinet, the Moroccan news agency MAP reported on Tuesday.
El Mansouri, 50, is the coordinator of the collective leadership of the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), which won the largest number of seats in parliamentary elections held on September 23. PAM secured 97 of the 395 seats in the House of Representatives, ahead of the National Rally of Independents, with 66 seats and the Istiqlal Party with 65.
Under Article 47 of the Moroccan constitution, the king appoints the head of government from the party that wins the most seats.
PAM is well short of the 198 seats required for an absolute majority, meaning El Mansouri will have to negotiate a coalition with other parties.
Following her appointment, El Mansouri said she was “honoured” to have been entrusted with leading the next government.
She said consultations would begin with her party and other political forces to form the new Cabinet. “We hope that this government will live up to the aspirations of his majesty the king and the Moroccan people,” she said, adding that the government would propose “practical and realistic solutions,” particularly in response to the expectations of young people.
El Mansouri is a trained lawyer who previously served as mayor of Marrakesh.
She has been minister of national territorial planning, urban planning, housing and city policy since 2021. In 2024, she became part of PAM’s three-member collective leadership. Her political career began in Marrakesh, where she became the city’s first female mayor in 2009 at the age of 33.
She has also served several terms as a member of parliament.
The new government faces economic and social challenges, including concerns over employment and young people’s prospects.
It will also oversee major infrastructure and investment projects, linked to Morocco’s preparations to co-host the 2030 FIFA World Cup with Spain and Portugal.
GNA