Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri Becomes Morocco's First Woman Prime Minister

Morocco has a new government, and for the first time in the country's history it is led by a woman. King Mohammed VI formally appointed the members of the cabinet on Friday, October 16, with Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri as prime minister, according to AFP reporting published by Africanews.

The National reported that the new government was sworn in at a ceremony presided over by the king at the Royal Palace in Rabat. After her royal audience, El Mansouri spoke of an "ambitious government programme that can meet citizens' expectations," AFP reported.

How She Got Here

El Mansouri is a senior figure in the Authenticity and Modernity Party, known as PAM, which won the most seats in Morocco's parliamentary elections on September 23. DW described her as the mayor of Marrakesh and the minister of planning before her appointment, and reported that the king chose her over Fouzi Lekjaa, another senior PAM member who heads the Royal Moroccan Football Federation.

DW also noted that she is widely seen as having shown leadership after the devastating 2023 earthquake. That record, built in local government and in a national ministry, gave her a profile that reached well beyond party politics.

Morocco is a constitutional monarchy. As DW explained, elections are held and the head of government leads the cabinet and carries out public policy, while the king holds ultimate executive power.

Building a Coalition and a Cabinet

Forming a government took several weeks. PAM reached a deal with three other parties, including the Istiqlal party and two smaller left-leaning parties, and together they hold a majority of the 395 seats in parliament, according to AFP and The National.

El Mansouri kept a number of experienced ministers in place. AFP reported that 13 of the 31 ministers from the previous government were retained, including Nasser Bourita at Foreign Affairs and Abdelouafi Laftit at the Interior Ministry. Fouzi Lekjaa, a budget minister in the outgoing government, was promoted to Minister of Economy and Finance.

The cabinet also includes seven women, counting the prime minister, the same number as the previous government, AFP reported. According to The National, Charafat Afailal was named Minister of Energy and Najwa Kokos was given the Family, Social Development and Equality portfolio, and four of the 11 ministers delegate are women.

Why This Moment Matters Beyond Morocco

El Mansouri is only the third woman to lead a government in the Arab world, according to DW. The first two were both in Tunisia: Najla Bouden and the current prime minister, Sara Zaafarani.

Researchers have suggested that visible women at the top can shift public attitudes. DW cited Arab Barometer survey data showing that the share of Tunisians who agreed that men are generally better political leaders fell from 56% to 40% between 2018 and 2022, a change the researchers linked to a "role-model effect."

Observers in Morocco told DW that the appointment is already changing conversations. Anja Freudenreich, who heads the Rabat office of Germany's Friedrich Ebert Foundation, said El Mansouri's role "is certainly notable as female leadership in the region is rare." Stephanie Willman Bordat, co-founder of the Rabat-based group Mobilizing for Rights Associates, said people in cafes and on trains are now discussing women's leadership openly.

The Expectations Ahead

The new prime minister takes office with a full agenda. AFP reported that September's vote saw the lowest turnout in nearly 20 years and was shaped by concerns about the cost of living, employment and inequality. The National reported that the government faces pressure to tackle unemployment and to deliver better education and health services.

It will also oversee the final stages of Morocco's preparations for the 2030 World Cup, which the country will co-host with Spain and Portugal. The National put that investment push at about $20 billion, which is why some in Morocco have taken to calling this the "World Cup government," as DW noted.

Women's rights advocates will also be watching closely. DW reported that Morocco's family code, which sets rules on marriage, divorce, child custody and property rights, has not been updated since 2004, and that a review the king requested in 2023 is still pending. Freudenreich described El Mansouri to DW as more of a pragmatist than a rebel, and PAM's election platform listed a small number of women's policies, including raising women's economic participation, improving pensions for vulnerable widows and strengthening obstetric care.

What Women Leaders Can Take From It

El Mansouri's path offers a familiar lesson for women in leadership anywhere. She built credibility through concrete, visible work in a city government and a ministry, and she rose to the top of a large organization where she was not the only strong candidate.

Her first decisions as prime minister also show a leader balancing continuity with change: keeping seasoned ministers in key posts while bringing new faces into the cabinet. Whether her government delivers on jobs, services and the World Cup will define how her tenure is judged.

For now, Morocco has crossed a line it had never crossed before. Follow Women Visionary Magazine for more stories about the women shaping leadership around the world.