Morocco Appoints First Female Prime Minister
The decision places a woman at the head of Morocco's government for the first time while preparing the country for major international investments.
Morocco's King Mohammed VI appointed Urban Planning Minister Fatima Zahra Mansouri as prime minister on Tuesday in Rabat. The decision makes the 50-year-old attorney the first woman to lead the Moroccan government. Mansouri is also the second woman to serve as prime minister in the Arab world.
The appointment follows parliamentary elections held last week. The Royal Palace announced the decision in an official statement, tasking Mansouri with forming a new governing administration.
Mansouri coordinates the center-right Authenticity and Modernity Party, known as PAM. The party placed first in the vote by securing 97 seats in the 395-member House of Representatives. Under the Moroccan constitution, the monarch selects the head of government from the party that wins the most legislative seats.
In a televised address, Mansouri called the appointment an honor for herself and for Moroccan women. She noted the responsibility of taking charge of the government for the first time in national history.
Mansouri was elected mayor of Marrakesh in 2009, becoming the first woman to head that municipal council. She returned to the mayoral post in 2021. Later that year, she entered the national cabinet as minister of national territorial planning, urban planning, housing and urban policy.
Her incoming administration will manage economic measures aimed at lowering inflation, raising wages and creating employment. The cabinet will also oversee public spending projects linked to the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which Morocco is scheduled to co-host alongside Spain and Portugal.
Because PAM fell short of the 198 seats required for an absolute majority, Mansouri must now assemble a governing coalition. She is scheduled to open formal negotiations with rival political parties in the coming days to build a legislative majority and finalize her cabinet.
