Politics News

Morocco's king names Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri as the country's first woman prime minister

King Mohammed VI named Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri prime minister on Tuesday, September 29, after her Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) won the most seats in the September 23 election. Al Jazeera said she is the first woman to hold the post in Morocco and the third in the Arab world. PAM won 97 of 395 seats, well short of the 198 needed for a majority, so she must build a coalition.

The Star gave the rest of the table: the National Rally of Independents 66 seats, Istiqlal 65 and the Islamist PJD 54. It put turnout at about 38%, down from roughly 50% five years earlier. Under the constitution, the king appoints the head of government from the largest party.

“For the first time in our country's history, a woman is taking on the responsibility of leading the government.” — Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri, via Al Jazeera

How each outlet framed it

• Al Jazeera — the person: born in Marrakesh in 1976, the city's first woman mayor in 2009, then housing minister handling rehousing after the 2023 Al Haouz earthquake.
• The Star — the coalition maths: PAM had ruled out staying with the RNI during the campaign, but El Mansouri later said she would set no firm conditions, saying “We have turned the page.”
• The National (UAE) — a profile of the 50-year-old PAM leader as she prepared to take office.

What we don't know yet: Which parties will join her government. The PJD and the Federation of Democratic Left have said they will stay in opposition.