Arabic version: المغرب يعيّن فاطمة الزهراء المنصوري أول رئيسة حكومة

According to Allafrica, King Mohammed VI has appointed Fatima Zahra Mansouri as Morocco’s first female prime minister, tasking her with forming the next government after her center-right Authenticity and Modernity Party won last week’s parliamentary election.

PAM secured 97 of the 395 seats in the House of Representatives, 31 more than its nearest competitor. Under Morocco’s constitution, the king appoints the prime minister from the party that wins the largest number of seats. The election recorded the lowest turnout in two decades.

“For the first time in our country’s history, a woman is taking on the responsibility of leading the government,” Mansouri said. “This is a source of pride not only for me but for all Moroccan women.” She is the second woman in the Arab world to serve as prime minister, following Tunisia’s Najla Bouden, who held the post from 2021 to 2023.

Mansouri, 50, was the first woman to serve as mayor of Marrakesh. Elected in 2009, she held the position for six years and returned to it in 2021. She has also served as a member of parliament and joined PAM in 2008, the year the party was founded.

Her incoming government faces pressure to address inflation, wages and jobs, while overseeing investments connected to Morocco’s co-hosting of the 2030 FIFA World Cup. PAM has said it is willing to work with all parties, though the Justice and Development party and the Federation of Democratic Left have indicated they will remain in opposition.