Who Is Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri? The First Woman To Lead Morocco's Government

A new Prime Minister when it matters most

At the end of July, an estimated 60,000 people crossed from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in about a day. It was Spain's worst migration crisis in years. For Moroccans a Prime Minister’s appointment as head of government matters for very national reasons. A female prime minister in a constitutional monarchy located in a region where women have almost never led one, is an achievement. One that is promising to work for finding solutions for the country’s youth matters more. Who runs Morocco's government now matters as much in Madrid and Brussels as it does in Marrakesh.

On September 29, Morocco’s King Mohammed VI appointed Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri as the country’s prime minister, asking her to form a cabinet. She is not just the first woman to hold the post, but also the second woman to lead a government in the Arab world. Tunisia’s Najla Bouden became the first in 2021.

El Mansouri’s appointment came six days after the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) which she leads, won 97 of the 395 seats in the House of Representatives. More than any other party. PAM’s campaign was built on promises to create at least a million jobs during its term, achieve average annual economic growth of 5% and keep inflation at 2%.

 But Morocco’s voter turnout in these elections reflects the disaffection that Ceuta laid bare, falling to 38% from 50% just five years ago.

Considered one of Morocco's most prominent female politicians, Ms. El Mansouri has been the mayor of Marrakesh and served as minister in the previous coalition government, led by Aziz Akhannouch, leader of the National Rally of Independents (RNI). His party lost significant ground in the elections falling from 102 seats to 66.

The PM’s cabinet, once appointed by the King, must then win an investiture vote backed by an absolute majority of the lower house. But without enough seats to govern alone, PAM must first find coalition partners. Ms. El Mansouri has said there would be no “red lines” in these negotiations.

What does Morocco's Head of Government do?

The post carries real, but bounded power. Before the 2011 constitution, which was a concession to Arab Spring protesters, the King could name anyone. He now must pick from the largest party in national elections.

The Prime Minister’s government runs the administration, implements its programme and oversees public enterprises. As PM, El Mansouri holds regulatory power, appoints senior civil posts and chairs the Council of Government, which prepares bills, including the budget.

But in Morocco, the King retains ultimate power. He presides over the Council of Ministers, which settles the state's strategic direction and the budget's broad lines. He also commands the armed forces, holds religious authority as Commander of the Faithful, and ratifies treaties.

From Mayor to Housing Minister to Head of Government

El Mansouri became Mayor of Marrakesh in 2009 at the age of 33 and lost that position in the 2015 elections. She returned as Mayor in 2021, when she also became Minister of National Territory Planning, Urban Planning, Housing and City Policy in the previous coalition government.

Now, while her parliamentary seat will pass to the next candidate on her list, she will remain Mayor of Marrakesh, alongside her role as PM until the municipal elections in 2027.

Her national government portfolio put her ministry at the centre of rebuilding after the devastating earthquake in 2023, which killed 2,946 people. She and the ministry have faced criticism from survivor groups and critics over compensation and shelters, with some calling the recovery process slow.

A Marrakech Lawyer – Her Background

Born in Marrakech in 1976, El Mansouri is the daughter of Abderrahmane El Mansouri, who headed the city's bar association, served as its pasha (deputy governor) for three decades. He was also Morocco's ambassador to the United Arab Emirates.

She followed in his footsteps, training as an attorney in private law at Mohammed V University, business contract law at the University of Montpellier in France, followed by American and English business law at New York University and Pace University in the United States. in New York. She joined the Marrakech Bar in 2005 and practised property law, specialising in land, property, commercial real estate transactions.

A door-to-door campaign in 2009 made her stand out in the Mayoral race in 2009, in a country where politicians were rarely accessible. “People were surprised to see a young woman like me elected,” she told TIME magazine in 2013. “I realised people were hungry for change.” While she lost the next election, she returned as Mayor in 2021.

She joined PAM when it was formed in 2008. The party founded by Fouad Ali El Himma, a childhood friend and close adviser of the King, is widely described as monarchy aligned. From November 2011 to 2021 she sat in parliament, in opposition to the Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD), which led the government for that decade.

Why This Appointment Matters

Moroccan women won the vote in 1959 and first exercised that right in 1963. Yet, none sat in parliament until 1993 when Badia Skalli and Latifa Bennani-Smires, became the first female members of the Moroccan parliament.

In 2002, the Parliament introduced a quota of 30 reserved seats for women, doubling that to 60 in 2016.  followed in 2002 and was doubled to 60 in 2016.

Women in executive advisory roles to the national cabinet began only in 1998, with the first two full ministers in 2002. A historic seven female ministers and state secretaries were named in 2007, while 2011 saw that number drop to just one. In 2021, that figure rebounded with one third of the appointed cabinet, women. 2026 saw the country get its first female PM.

It took 30 years from the vote to a woman in parliament, and 33 more to a woman at the head of the government. The point is not only that a woman now holds the post. It is the length of the wait.

El Mansouri inherits a country that has lately voiced its anger outside the ballot box. In autumn 2025, youth-led GenZ 212 protests over hospitals, schools and World Cup spending. Those protests left three people dead. The public seems disillusioned by the elections even as unemployment is hovering around 27.2% among 15- to 24-year-olds, and 9.5% on average.  Her government must now also deliver billions of dollars of investment tied to the 2030 World Cup, which Morocco will co-host with Spain and Portugal.

But her first challenge - to build a majority 198 to rule. Among potential coalition members, it has been an election riddled with trading accusations, others like the PJD say they will stay in opposition. It will remain to be seen what El Mansouri really meant by saying she had "no red lines" on alliances.

Then, the biggest challenge -to show a disaffected electorate that she can deliver what last year's GenZ 212 protesters demanded.