Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri Morocco’s First Female Prime Minister

For the first time in the history of the North African country of Morocco, a woman has been appointed prime minister. King Mohammed VI on Tuesday (September 29) appointed 50-year-old lawyer and Minister of Urban Planning Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri as prime minister. At the same time, she was tasked with forming a new government. With this, she became Morocco’s first female head of government and the second female prime minister in the Arab world. Tunisia’s Najla Bouden previously held the position.

A statement from the Royal Palace said King Mohammed VI welcomed Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri at the Royal Palace in the capital Rabat and tasked her with forming a new government. The appointment came four days after her party, the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), won the highest number of seats in the parliamentary election held on September 23. PAM won 97 seats in the 395-member House of Representatives.

However, PAM is well short of the 198 seats required for a single-party majority. As a result, Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri will have to form a coalition with other political parties to establish the new government. The National Rally of Independents won 66 seats, while the Istiqlal Party secured 65 seats. The Islamist Justice and Development Party won 54 seats.

Voter turnout in this election was around 38 percent, which international media described as the lowest in nearly two decades. As a result, forming a political coalition and fulfilling various economic and social commitments have become important challenges for the new government following the election.

One of the major responsibilities facing the government led by Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri will be overseeing extensive infrastructure investment and preparations for the 2030 FIFA World Cup. Morocco will host the World Cup jointly with Spain and Portugal. The new government will also have to address economic issues such as controlling inflation, increasing employment, and improving wages and social protection. During the election campaign, PAM had announced plans to create one million jobs.

Under Article 47 of Morocco’s Constitution, the king appoints the prime minister or head of government from the political party that wins the largest number of seats in the parliamentary election. This rule was introduced after constitutional reforms in 2011. Before that, the king had comparatively greater discretion in appointing the prime minister.

Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri has been in charge of the ministry responsible for national planning, land and urban development, housing and urban policy since 2021. Earlier, she served as mayor of Marrakech and was also a member of parliament. She is one of the founding members of PAM, which was established in 2008, and currently serves as the party’s coordinator for its joint leadership.

El Mansouri, who pursued higher education in law, began her professional career as a member of the Marrakech Bar Association in 2002. She obtained a higher degree in business contract law from the University of Montpellier and a bachelor’s degree in private law from Mohammed V University. She also worked as a lawyer before becoming active in politics.

El Mansouri joined PAM, founded in 2008 by Fouad Ali El Himma. El Himma is known as a close associate and longtime adviser to King Mohammed VI. In 2024, El Mansouri rose to a key position in the party’s leadership. Before that, she served as mayor of Marrakech from 2009 to 2015 and later returned to the position.

After taking office as the new prime minister, she described her appointment as a “historic” event in the country’s history in a televised address. She said that, for the first time, a woman had taken responsibility for running the Moroccan government, which was also an important event for the women of the country.