On September 29, 2026, King Mohammed VI named Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri head of government, tasking her with forming a new cabinet. The appointment makes her the first woman to hold the post in Morocco’s history.
The decision followed the September 23 parliamentary elections, in which her Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) emerged as the largest force in the 395-seat House of Representatives with 97 seats. The National Rally of Independents (RNI), led by outgoing Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch, took 66 seats, and the Istiqlal Party secured 65. Under Article 47 of Morocco’s Constitution, the king appoints the head of government from the party that wins the most seats.
El Mansouri, 50, is a lawyer and longtime PAM figure. Born on January 3, 1976, in Marrakesh, she studied private law in Morocco, pursued postgraduate work at the University of Montpellier in France, and later studied business law at New York University. She became the first woman elected mayor of Marrakesh in 2009 (serving until 2015 and again from 2021), sat in parliament, and has served since 2021 as Minister of National Planning, Urban Planning, Housing and Urban Policy in the Akhannouch government. She has also held senior roles in PAM’s leadership.
Her appointment marks a milestone for women’s political representation in Morocco and makes her the second woman to head a government in the Arab world, after Tunisia’s Najla Bouden. PAM, founded in 2008 and positioned as a liberal-centrist alternative emphasizing modernization, will need coalition partners to form a majority. The new government is expected to continue work on major priorities, including preparations for the 2030 FIFA World Cup that Morocco will co-host.
El Mansouri now begins consultations to build a governing coalition and present a cabinet list for the king’s approval.
