Morocco Names First Female Prime Minister, Fatima Zahra El Mansouri
Fatima Zahra El Mansouri has been named Morocco’s first female prime minister, following her party’s decisive run in the country's latest parliamentary elections.
Her appointment positions her as only the second woman to lead a government in the Arab world, after Tunisia’s Najla Bouden.
El Mansouri, 50, was chosen by King Mohammed VI over her party’s football chief, Fouzi Lekjaa. She has long served as Marrakesh’s mayor and previously held ministerial portfolios in national territorial and urban planning.
Despite Morocco being a constitutional monarchy with the king holding significant power, the prime minister is still selected from the party with the most seats.
After the announcement, El Mansouri was interviewed at a victory press conference, replying to questions about balancing gender roles in Islamic prayer rituals by praising the king as the country’s biggest advocate for women.
Her Authenticity and Modernity Party won 97 of the 395 seats, requiring coalition partners to form an absolute majority of 198 seats. The party has been open to alliances but has faced tension with former rivals, notably the National Rally of Independents, which left the previous premiership coalition.
The Islamist Justice and Development Party, now holding 54 seats thanks to the return of former prime minister Abdelilah Benkirane, has declined to join a coalition with Pam.
El Mansouri co-ordinates Pam’s leadership coalition and has repeatedly dismissed the media’s portrayal of her as an "iron woman", preferring to be seen as a free activist instead.
Her decade of political career, marked by limited public discussion on issues such as polygamy and inheritance rights, suggests her focus remains on broader governance rather than specific gender reforms.
