Morocco's king appoints Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri as first woman prime minister
King Mohammed VI named Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri as Morocco's first woman head of government, four days after her liberal-centrist PAM party topped the September 23 parliamentary election.
King Mohammed VI appointed Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri as Morocco’s head of government on Tuesday, making her the first woman to hold the office in the country’s history, a statement from the royal palace said.
The appointment, reported by Reuters, comes four days after the results of the September 23 parliamentary election, in which El Mansouri’s liberal-centrist Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) finished first with 97 of the 395 seats in the House of Representatives.
Under Morocco’s constitution, the king appoints the head of government from the party that wins the most seats. El Mansouri now faces the task of forming a governing coalition, with PAM well short of the 198 seats needed for a majority. She has said the party is open to talks with all parties.
She becomes the second woman to serve as prime minister in the Arab world, after Najla Bouden in Tunisia.
El Mansouri, 50, was born in Marrakesh in 1976 and studied law at France’s University of Montpellier before working as a lawyer. She became the first woman mayor of Marrakesh in 2009, and served in the outgoing government as minister of national territory planning, housing and city policy.
The incoming administration, dubbed the “World Cup government”, will oversee Morocco’s preparations for co-hosting the 2030 World Cup with Spain and Portugal. Its domestic priorities include fighting inflation, raising wages and creating jobs.
Sources
- Reuters, “Morocco’s king appoints first woman PM following Sept 23 election”: https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/moroccos-king-appoints-first-woman-pm-following-sept-23-election-2026-09-29/
- Hespress (AFP), “King Mohammed VI appoints Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri as Morocco’s first female head of government”: https://en.hespress.com/146332-king-mohammed-vi-appoints-fatima-ezzahra-el-mansouri-as-moroccos-first-female-head-of-government.html
- The National, “Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri set to be Morocco’s first female PM”: https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2026/09/29/moroccos-fatima-ezzahra-el-mansouri-set-to-be-first-female-pm/
- Arab News, “Morocco’s king appoints the country’s first woman prime minister”: https://www.arabnews.pk/middle-east/moroccos-king-appoints-the-countrys-first-woman-prime-minister-3002704
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