‘Truly historic’: Morocco’s king appoints first woman prime minister

What the report says

Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has appointed Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri as prime minister, making her the first woman to hold the post in the country. Al Jazeera reported that she is also only the second woman in the Arab world to become prime minister, after Tunisia’s Najla Bouden. The royal palace said she was asked to form a new government, and El Mansouri described the move as "truly historic."

El Mansouri, 50, is a senior figure in the monarchy-aligned Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), which won the largest share of seats in Morocco’s latest parliamentary election but not an outright majority. PAM secured 97 of 395 seats in the House of Representatives, meaning it must build a coalition before governing. That makes coalition talks her first major task. Some parties, including the Justice and Development Party and the Federation of Democratic Left, have said they will remain in opposition.

According to Al Jazeera, the next government will also help decide how to allocate major investments ahead of the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which Morocco will co-host with Portugal and Spain. El Mansouri has previously served as mayor of Marrakesh and as minister for national spatial planning, urban development, housing and urban policy. Her earlier portfolio included housing support, urban planning reforms and post-earthquake rehousing efforts.