Morocco's First Female Prime Minister Appointed... Minister El Mansouri Nominated to Form New Government

[Financial News] Mohammed VI of Morocco has appointed Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri, the Minister of Urban Planning, as the new prime minister, making her the first woman in Moroccan history and the second in the Arab world to hold the position.
On the 29th (local time), foreign media outlets including Al Jazeera reported that the Moroccan royal family had issued an official statement assigning El Mansouri, who served as mayor of Marrakesh and Minister of Urban Planning, the task of forming a new government cabinet.
In a televised speech immediately after her nomination, Prime Minister-designate El Mansouri said, "For the first time in our country's history, a woman has assumed the responsibility of leading the government," adding, "This is not only a personal honor but also a source of pride for all Moroccan women."
The nomination came three days after the results of last week's general election for the House of Representatives, which has 395 seats, were announced. The pro-monarchy Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), led by El Mansouri, won 97 seats and became the largest party.
However, as it fell short of the 198 seats needed for a single-party majority, forming a coalition government with other parties became El Mansouri's first task.
PAM is a political party founded in 2008 by Fuad Ali El Hima, a close associate of Mohammed VI of Morocco, and has left open the possibility of cooperating with other parties. However, major opposition parties, including the Justice and Development Party (PJD) and the Democratic Left Alliance (FDL), have stated that they will not join the coalition and will remain in opposition.
The newly formed coalition government will oversee billions of dollars in infrastructure investment to prepare for the FIFA World Cup, which Morocco will co-host with Spain and Portugal in 2030.
El Mansouri will become the second female prime minister in Arab history, following Najla Bouden, who served as Tunisia's prime minister from 2021 to 2023.
Born in Marrakesh in 1976, El Mansouri is a legal expert who earned a master's degree in law from the University of Montpellier in France and a degree in Anglo-American corporate law from New York University (NYU) in the United States.
She entered politics in 2009 at the age of 33, becoming the first female mayor of Marrakesh, and subsequently gained legislative experience through consecutive elections to the House of Representatives. Following the 2021 general election, she was reappointed as mayor of Marrakesh and simultaneously appointed minister of land planning, urban development and housing in the central government.
During her tenure as minister, she was credited with successfully leading major national initiatives, including housing support programs, urban planning reform and the reconstruction of housing for people displaced by the Al Haouz earthquake.
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