Fatima El Mansouri emerges Morocco first female PM

Fatima El Mansouri has been named Morocco’s first female prime minister after her political party emerged with the highest number of seats in the country’s parliamentary election.

King Mohammed VI appointed El Mansouri on Tuesday and asked her to form a new government, according to a statement from the Royal Palace.

Her appointment marks a major development in Morocco’s political history, as she becomes the first woman to occupy the country’s top government position.

Morocco operates a constitutional monarchy, with the king retaining significant political powers. Under the country’s constitution, the monarch appoints the head of government from the political party that wins the most seats in the House of Representatives.

The 50-year-old attorney was previously the mayor of Marrakech before her appointment as prime minister. She is the second woman to serve as prime minister in the Arab world, after Tunisia’s Najla Bouden.

Fouzi Lekjaa, president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation and a key figure in the king’s aligned Authenticity and Modernity Party (AMP), was El Mansouri’s strongest contender.

El Mansouri’s government will oversee the final stages of a $20-billion push to prepare Morocco for the 2030 World Cup, which the country will co-host with Portugal and ‌Spain.

She will also be tasked with implementing economic policies aimed at addressing widespread youth discontent, an issue highlighted by a mass border rush on the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in July and deadly Gen-Z-led protests last year.

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