Fatima Mansouri: First Moroccan Woman to Head the Government

Rabat (Agencies): Moroccan King Mohammed VI has tasked Fatima Zahra Mansouri, coordinator of the collective leadership of the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), with forming the new government. A statement from the Royal Palaces, Protocol, and Decorations Ministry announced that on Tuesday, King Mohammed VI received Mansouri at the Royal Palace in Rabat, appointed her as Prime Minister, and charged her with forming the new cabinet.

Mansouri is the first woman to hold this position in the kingdom’s history. Her appointment follows PAM’s victory in the legislative elections held on September 23, where the party secured 97 seats in the House of Representatives, surpassing the National Rally of Independents (RNI) and the Independence Party (PI).

Fatima Zahra Mansouri, 50, possesses a unique experience that has propelled her into an ascending political career since 2008, culminating in her historic entry into Moroccan politics as the first woman to become Prime Minister. Upon leaving the Royal Palace in Rabat, she stated, “My appointment as head of the Moroccan government is a historic moment for Morocco and a source of pride for all women and for the King, who believed in the capabilities of Moroccan women and recognized their deserving of respect and appreciation.”

Born on January 3, 1976, in Marrakech, Mansouri received part of her education at institutions of the French Mission before choosing to study law. She obtained a bachelor’s degree in private law from Mohammed V University in Rabat, a postgraduate diploma in business contract law from the University of Montpellier in France, and a certificate in Anglo-Saxon law from American University in Washington, D.C.

Following her academic career, Mansouri began her professional journey as a lawyer specializing in commercial and real estate law. She successfully accumulated significant expertise in legal files related to investment, enterprise, and real estate, which gave her a precise understanding of the pressures and difficulties faced by economic actors and investors.

Mansouri strives to present herself as a politician who forged her path through party work and local governance, rather than through slogans. She also rejects the stereotypical image of her as the “Iron Lady,” telling a French media outlet, “I am not made of steel or iron... I am a free fighter.”

Her political career dates back to 2007, when she joined the “Movement of Democrats” (MD) and was invited to help establish its branch in Marrakech. Fouad Ali El Himma, currently an advisor to King Mohammed VI, was one of the movement’s key founders. The MD promoted the narrative that traditional Moroccan political parties had weakened and lost credibility, becoming unable to compete with the Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD). Mansouri subsequently became one of the founders of the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) when it was launched in 2008.

The year 2009 marked a major milestone with her election as mayor of Marrakech, making her the first woman to hold this position in the city’s history and the second woman to lead the municipal council of a major city in Morocco. This experience helped solidify her image as one of the leading female figures in local government. She took on broader responsibilities after being elected to the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Moroccan Parliament, in 2011. She renewed her parliamentary presence in 2016 before returning to the local spotlight after the 2021 municipal elections, when she was re-elected mayor of Marrakech—a move then considered a significant step in the participation of Moroccan women in local governance.

Concurrently with her presence in representative institutions, Mansouri entered the government in 2021, securing the portfolio of Minister of Territorial Planning, Urban Planning, Housing, and City Policy in the government of Aziz Akhannouch. In 2014, Forbes magazine ranked her at the top of a list of the 20 most influential young women in Africa.