Morocco Appoints Fatima Zahra Mansouri as First Female Prime Minister
King Mohammed VI appointed Fatima Zahra Mansouri as Morocco's prime minister, making her the first woman to lead the government and setting up major coalition challenges.
King Mohammed VI of Morocco appointed Fatima Zahra Mansouri as the country's next prime minister on Tuesday. Mansouri becomes the first woman to lead Morocco's government and only the second woman in the Arab world to hold the position, following Najla Bouden in Tunisia.
The appointment comes less than a week after parliamentary elections in which Mansouri's party, the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), became the largest in the country. The party won 97 of the 385 seats in the House of Representatives, overtaking the National Rally of Independents (RNI), which led the outgoing government.
Under the Moroccan constitution, the monarch appoints the prime minister from the party that wins the largest number of seats. Mansouri must now form a coalition and establish a new government. Since PAM does not hold a parliamentary majority, she will need coalition partners.
Background and Early Career
Born in Marrakesh on January 3, 1976, Mansouri comes from a prominent family with roots in the nearby Rehamna region. Her father, Abdelrahman el-Mansouri, served in local public administration in Marrakesh before later being appointed Moroccan ambassador to the United Arab Emirates.
Educated in French schools in Marrakesh, Mansouri pursued law at the University of Montpellier in France. She later studied Anglo-American business law at Pace University in New York and completed private law studies at Mohammed V University in Rabat. Upon returning to Morocco, she worked as a corporate and real estate attorney.
Her entry into politics began through the "All Democrats Movement," which grew into PAM in 2008. In 2009, at just 33 years old, she was elected mayor of Marrakesh, becoming the first woman to hold the post. She served until 2015 and was simultaneously elected to parliament in 2011 for two consecutive terms.
Political Ascent and Immediate Challenges
Following PAM's strong performance in the 2021 elections, Mansouri returned to the mayoralty of Marrakesh and joined Aziz Akhannouch's cabinet as Minister of National Territory Planning, Urban Planning, Housing, and Urban Policy. She gradually climbed the party ranks, becoming one of three members of PAM's collective leadership in 2024.
PAM is generally considered a centrist party, established in 2008 partly as a counterweight to the Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD). Mansouri's new administration faces daunting economic hurdles, including a pledge to create one million jobs by 2031 and tackle high youth unemployment, which rose to 37.2% in 2025.
"This is a historic moment for the country, but the expectations from the new government, particularly among the youth, are exceptionally high," Mansouri stated following her appointment.
Experts note that while the appointment shatters a major glass ceiling, foreign policy and core strategic security decisions remain firmly under royal authority, leaving Mansouri's government focused squarely on domestic administration and economic reform.
