Morocco Names Marrakesh Mayor as Country’s First Female Premier

Morocco’s King Mohammed VI appointed Marrakesh Mayor Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri as prime minister, making her the first woman tasked with forming and leading a government in the history of the North African kingdom.

The Royal Cabinet made the surprise announcement in a statement carried by state media after El Mansouri’s Authenticity and Modernity Party, known as PAM, won the most seats in the house of representatives after a parliamentary election on Sept. 23.

Fouzi Lekjaa, who heads Morocco’s football association, was widely seen as favorite for the role after he joined PAM two months before the election to lead its campaign across a country that’s co-hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2030.

El Mansouri is a 50-year-old lawyer who studied law at Pace University and Montpellier in France. She replaces Aziz Akhannouch, a billionaire fuel tycoon, whose Independents’ National Rally, or RNI, saw its support slump in a vote marked by public apathy.

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The election was the North African nation’s first since Gen-Z protests a year earlier exposed anger over the lack of jobs and public services. That frustration escalated in late July when tens of thousands of Moroccans tried to cross into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, sparking panic in the European Union.

El Mansouri was first elected as Marrakesh mayor in 2009 and has co-run PAM since 2024, after the party failed to select a sole leader. She has also served as urban planning and housing minister under Akhannouch since 2021.

The royal appointment paves the way for El Mansouri to start talks to form a coalition with other political parties.

PAM secured 97 of the assembly’s 395 seats. RNI won 66 seats and the nationalist Istiqlal party secured 65. Those three parties have led the coalition of the outgoing government. The Islamist Justice and Development Party, which formed part of governments from 2011 to 2021, won 54 seats.

Speculation around Lekjaa’s leadership potential has been on the rise since his appointment in 2025 to the helm of Morocco’s 2030 Foundation, a non-profit tasked by the monarchy with overseeing preparations and the organization of the World Cup.

That appointment conferred to Lekjaa the central role of coordinator among ministries, public agencies, local authorities and private partners for commitments by the state, the preparations for the event as well as compliance with specifications set by FIFA.