WORLD
Morocco Makes History: Fatima Zahra El Mansouri Named First Woman Prime Minister
El Mansouri previously made history in 2009 as Marrakesh’s first female mayor.
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In a Nutshell
- Morocco’s King Mohammed VI appointed Fatima Zahra El Mansouri as the country’s first woman prime minister on 29 September 2026 and asked her to form a new government.
- El Mansouri, 50, had been urban planning minister and mayor of Marrakesh; she is a trained lawyer.
- She described her appointment as “truly historic,” saying that a woman was leading Morocco’s government for the first time and that it was a source of pride for Moroccan women.
- Her centrist Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) won 97 of the 395 seats in Morocco’s House of Representatives in the 23 September parliamentary election, making it the largest party.
- PAM is 101 seats short of the 198 seats needed for an outright majority, so El Mansouri’s immediate task is to negotiate a governing coalition.
- Morocco’s constitution requires the king to select the head of government from the party that wins the most seats in the lower-house election.
- El Mansouri is the second woman to head a government in the Arab world, after Tunisia’s Najla Bouden.
- Her new government will face major decisions, including investment planning ahead of the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which Morocco is set to co-host with Spain and Portugal.
Context
The appointment follows a parliamentary election in which PAM emerged as the largest party but without a governing majority. The party, founded in 2008 by Ali El Himma, a former adviser and friend of King Mohammed VI, is generally described as centrist and monarchy-aligned.
El Mansouri previously made history in 2009 as Marrakesh’s fi rst female mayor. Her rise to the premiership marks a symbolic milestone in Moroccan politics, although her government’s durability will depend on coalition negotiations and support in the 395-member parliament.
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