Arabic version: المنصوري تُعيَّن أول رئيسة حكومة في المغرب

According to Allafrica, Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri has been named Morocco’s first female prime minister after King Mohammed VI appointed her on Tuesday and asked her to form a government. The 50-year-old lawyer’s Authenticity and Modernity Party, known as PAM, came first in last week’s parliamentary election with 97 of the 395 seats.

El Mansouri described the appointment as a historic moment after meeting the king. She said that, for the first time in Morocco’s history, a woman was taking responsibility for leading the government, calling it a source of pride for Moroccan women. PAM does not hold enough seats to govern alone, and El Mansouri said there would be no “red lines” as the party seeks coalition partners.

Her appointment adds to a political career that included becoming Marrakesh’s first female mayor in 2009, at age 33. She lost the post to the Islamist Justice and Development Party in 2015 before returning as mayor in 2021. She also served as a minister in outgoing Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch’s government and was elected to parliament in the latest vote.

El Mansouri joined PAM in 2008, when it was founded by Fouad Ali El Himma, now an adviser to the king. She studied law in the United States and at France’s University of Montpellier and is trilingual. Her parliamentary seat will pass to the next candidate on her list, while she is set to remain mayor of Marrakesh until municipal elections scheduled for 2027.

She takes office following an election in which turnout fell to 38 percent, down from 50 percent five years earlier. PAM campaigned on promises to create at least one million jobs during its term, reach average annual economic growth of 5 percent and keep inflation at 2 percent. El Mansouri said the period would be marked by high expectations from Moroccans, especially young people.