Morocco has appointed Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri as its first female prime minister after her Authenticity and Modernity Party, PAM, won the most seats in the country’s September 23 parliamentary election.
King Mohammed VI appointed the 50-year-old lawyer on Tuesday and tasked her with forming a new government. PAM won 97 of the 395 seats in the House of Representatives, leaving it short of the 198 seats required for a majority. (Reuters)
El Mansouri’s appointment makes her the second woman to serve as prime minister in the Arab world, following Tunisia’s Najla Bouden.
She is one of Morocco’s prominent female politicians and has served as mayor of Marrakesh and as minister for national territory planning, urban planning, housing and city policy.
Her appointment comes under a constitutional system in which the king appoints the head of government from the party that wins the most seats in the House of Representatives.
PAM’s 97 seats mean the party will have to negotiate with other political groups to form a governing coalition.
The coalition-building process could prove complicated because PAM has had disagreements with the National Rally of Independents, RNI, which headed the outgoing government in which PAM served as a junior partner.
The choice of El Mansouri also marks a change from the way Morocco’s prime ministers have traditionally been selected. Under the constitution, the king appoints the head of government from the party that wins the most seats.
PAM has operated under collective leadership since February 2024 instead of having a single secretary-general, leaving the king to choose between El Mansouri and Fouzi Lekjaa, the country’s football chief and a senior PAM politician.
El Mansouri had previously said the final decision belonged to the king.
At a victory press conference before her appointment was announced, El Mansouri was asked whether changes would be required to accommodate her participation in Muslim religious ceremonies attended by the king, including Friday and Eid prayers, where men and women pray in separate sections.
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She did not directly answer the question, instead praising the king as “the biggest advocate for women” in the country.
“His Majesty is the holder of wisdom… If I am entrusted with the responsibility of head of government, it will be a great honour,” she said.
El Mansouri trained as a lawyer at Mohammed V University in Rabat before continuing her education in France and the United States, where she specialised in business and corporate law.
She joined politics after PAM was established in 2008 and became the first woman to serve as mayor of Marrakesh in 2009. She returned to the position following the 2021 elections.
Between 2021 and 2026, El Mansouri served as minister for national territory planning, urban planning, housing and city policy under former Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch.
She became co-ordination of PAM’s collective leadership in February 2024.
El Mansouri has also pushed back against descriptions of her as an “iron woman”. In a 2021 interview with PAM’s magazine, she said: “I am neither a woman of steel nor iron… I am a free activist.”
Meanwhile, the Islamist Justice and Development Party, PJD, made a significant recovery in the election, winning 54 seats compared with 13 in the previous vote. The party’s 54 seats were confirmed in the official results.
The party’s improved performance followed the return of its leader, Abdelilah Benkirane, who previously served as prime minister.
Benkirane said after the election that the PJD would remain in opposition and rejected a partnership with PAM.
El Mansouri now faces coalition negotiations before presenting a new government for royal approval.
