King Mohammed VI tasks first woman in Morocco’s history with forming government

Morocco’s King Mohammed VI on Tuesday appointed Fatima-Zahra El Mansouri as head of government and tasked her with forming the country’s next government, making her the first woman to hold the post in Morocco’s history since independence.

The appointment follows legislative elections held on 23rd September, in which the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) won 97 of the 395 seats in the House of Representatives. The result made PAM the largest party in parliament, but left it without an outright majority and therefore requiring coalition partners to govern.

El Mansouri, 50, is a Moroccan lawyer and politician who previously served as mayor of Marrakesh and held the portfolio for National Land Planning, Urban Planning and Housing in the previous government.

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Her appointment makes her the first woman to lead the Moroccan government and the second woman to head a government in the Arab world, following Tunisia’s Najla Bouden.

Following PAM’s election victory, El Mansouri said the process of forming a government would proceed according to established constitutional and political procedures.

She also expressed her party’s readiness to hold consultations with different political forces and said no specific parties had been designated as “red lines” in negotiations over the formation of a governing coalition.

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