The King of Morocco appoints for the first time a woman head of government

BarcelonaMorocco will have a female head of government for the first time. King Mohamed VI has tasked Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri, until now Minister of National Planning, Urbanism, Housing and Urban Policy, from the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), this Tuesday with the formation of a new government in Morocco. In this way, for the first time since independence, the executive will be headed by a woman. Six days after the elections in which the PAM was the most voted party, the monarch communicated the decision to El Mansouri in a meeting at the Royal Palace in Rabat.

"This is a historic moment," assured El Mansouri in the statements she made after meeting with Mohamed VI. "For the first time in the history of our country, a woman assumes the responsibility of the presidency of the government. This is not an honor only for me, but for all the women of the country," she added.

The PAM, a liberal political formation and member of the outgoing government coalition, won the elections that were held on September 23rd. The legislative elections, however, were marked by high abstention, which reached 61.9%, the highest in twenty years. With 97 of the 395 seats in Parliament, the PAM prevailed over its coalition partners: RNI (National Rally of Independents) and Istiqlal (nationalist).

Despite the economic growth that Morocco has experienced in recent years, social unrest in the country and disaffection with politics are evident, especially among the youngest sectors of the population. Their reality remains far from the image of prosperity that the regime projects. With a youth unemployment rate of almost 40%, many young people are forced to migrate to find opportunities. Mansouri, having just been appointed, has shown herself to be aware of this reality. "We are aware that this will be an important stage and one in which there are significant expectations among the citizens, especially the young. That is why we will present a program with authentic and realistic solutions, just as his majesty wishes," she assured.

With this Tuesday's appointment, El Mansouri becomes the second woman to become head of government in an Arab country, after the appointment of Najla Bouden in Tunisia in 2021. Now, the new Moroccan leader will begin internal consultations within her party and then talks with the rest of the political parties to present to Mohamed VI a government proposal "that is up to the expectations of the king and the citizens," she pointed out. One of the possibilities is that the outgoing coalition, with the RNI and Istiqlal, will be re-established. In any case, no major shift in the country's policies is expected, despite the climate of social unrest.

The trajectory of the new president

El Mansouri holds a law degree, completed her studies in France and the United States, and has a long political career. She has served as mayor of Marrakech—the first female mayor in a Moroccan city—and as Minister of National Planning, Urbanism, Housing and Urban Policy in the outgoing government, led by the conservative tycoon Aziz Akhannouch, from whom she will now take over. Her party militants have referred to her as "the president" since before her appointment.

The PAM leader has an eighteen-year history with the party, which was launched in 2008 and is close to the king. However, her career has also been marked by controversy, especially while she held the office of mayor of Marrakech. The most controversial incident was the sale in 2023 of a family plot of land near that city, when El Mansouri was already combining the mayoralty with the position of Minister of Urbanism. Some media pointed to a possible conflict of interest and El Mansouri responded that it was a matter of "malicious leaks".