Morocco's King Mohammed VI has appointed Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri, the long-time mayor of Marrakesh, as prime minister, making her the first woman to hold the post in the country's history. The king received her at the royal palace in Rabat on Tuesday and tasked her with forming a new government, citing Article 47 of the constitution, according to the state news agency MAP. Al Jazeera reports she is the second woman in the Arab world to lead a government.
El Mansouri, 50, leads the centrist Authenticity and Modernity Party (known as Pam), which came first in parliamentary elections held on 23 September with 97 seats. Official results put the National Rally of Independents (RNI) on 66 seats, the Istiqlal party on 65 and the Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) on 54. Turnout was reportedly the lowest since 2007. Pam is well short of the 198 seats needed for a majority in the 395-member House of Representatives, so she must build a coalition. She has said she will begin consultations within her own party and then with others. It is unclear who her partners will be: Pam has fallen out with the RNI, which led the outgoing government, and PJD leader Abdelilah Benkirane, a former prime minister, has said his party will stay in opposition.
A lawyer by training, El Mansouri studied in Rabat, France and the United States. She was a founding member of Pam in 2008 and first became mayor of Marrakesh in 2009, returning to the post after the 2021 elections. She also served as an MP and, for the past five years, as minister for national territory planning, urban planning, housing and city policy, a portfolio that included reconstruction after the 2023 Al Haouz earthquake. Since February 2024 she has been co-ordinator of Pam's collective leadership. BBC reporting notes she has rarely spoken publicly on women's rights, despite debates over polygamy and inheritance equality. Asked before her appointment about the king's role in religious ceremonies, she praised him as "the biggest advocate for women". After her appointment she called the moment historic and a source of pride for Moroccan women.
The appointment carries more suspense than in the past. The constitution requires the king to choose the head of government from the winning party, and this used to be a formality because parties had a single leader. Pam's collective leadership meant that El Mansouri and another figure, Lekjaa, were both possible choices.
Why this matters: Morocco is a constitutional monarchy in which the king keeps sweeping powers over foreign policy and defence, but the government handles daily economic and social policy. Africanews notes that El Mansouri campaigned on "restoring hope" among young people, amid deep youth discontent shown by deadly Gen-Z-led protests last year and a mass border rush on the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in July. She faces pressure over unemployment and the cost of living, and will oversee preparations for the 2030 World Cup, which Morocco is co-hosting, as well as the government's autonomy plan for the disputed Western Sahara.