Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has officially appointed former Urban Planning Minister and Marrakech Mayor Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri as the country’s first female Prime Minister following parliamentary elections held on September 23.
Reuters reports that El Mansouri’s liberal-centrist Authenticity and Modernity Party secured 97 of the 395 seats in parliament to finish first, granting her party the lead role in forming the next administration under constitutional guidelines. The appointment makes El Mansouri the second woman to lead a government in the Arab world, following Tunisia’s Najla Bouden.
Following her audience with the King at the Royal Palace in Rabat, the Prime Minister-designate has been tasked with initiating coalition negotiations to assemble a governing majority. The incoming administration is set to oversee major economic development priorities, including job creation, tackling inflation, and executing major infrastructure investments ahead of the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
–Reuters/ChannelAfrica–
