Morocco Names Fatima Zahra Mansouri as First Female Prime Minister
Her elevation to the premiership tests whether a woman leading the Moroccan government will translate into substantive legal and economic gains for women.
Moroccan King Mohammed VI appointed Fatima Zahra Mansouri as the kingdom's first female prime minister on Sept. 29, 2026, tasking the 50-year-old lawyer with forming a coalition government. The appointment followed the Sept. 23 parliamentary election, in which Mansouri's centrist Authenticity and Modernity Party, known as PAM, finished in first place. Under Article 47 of Morocco's constitution, the monarch must select the head of government from the party winning the most legislative seats.
Mansouri's party secured 97 seats in the 395-member House of Representatives. The National Rally of Independents placed second with 66 seats, followed by the Istiqlal Party with 65 and the Justice and Development Party with 54. Mansouri succeeds Aziz Akhannouch, in whose cabinet she served as minister of national territorial planning, urban development, housing and city policy.
The appointment marks a notable milestone for women in the Middle East and North Africa, where few women have reached the top executive office. Mansouri called the appointment an honor and a source of pride for Moroccan women. Women's rights advocates and political analysts, however, question whether the appointment represents meaningful reform or primarily symbolic progress for the country's international standing. While Morocco overhauled its family code in 2004 to expand divorce rights, advocates say women still face legal disadvantages in inheritance, child custody and economic participation.
Born in Marrakech in 1976, Mansouri is the daughter of a former deputy governor of the city who also served as ambassador to the United Arab Emirates. She earned law degrees in Morocco and France before practicing commercial and real estate law. Mansouri entered public life in 2007 and helped found PAM in 2008. She became mayor of Marrakech in 2009, winning a second term in 2021, and took over the party's collective leadership in early 2024.
Mansouri has begun talks with other political parties to assemble a governing majority in parliament. The incoming coalition must manage state spending for the 2030 FIFA World Cup while addressing voter concerns about inflation and job growth.
