Morocco Forms First Female-Led Government

Morocco’s King Mohammed VI appointed Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri as the country’s first woman to lead the government after her Authenticity and Modernity Party won the September parliamentary election. PAM formed a four-party coalition with Istiqlal, the Socialist Union of Popular Forces and the Party of Progress and Socialism, giving the alliance 207 of 395 parliamentary seats and a majority. The new cabinet includes six women in ministerial or deputy-minister roles, while key portfolios such as Interior, Foreign Affairs and Justice reportedly remain with their previous ministers; Fouzi Lekjaa takes responsibility for Economy. The government faces public pressure to address unemployment and shortcomings in public services, while overseeing major infrastructure and sports investments ahead of the 2030 World Cup, which Morocco will co-host with Spain and Portugal.