Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri Appointed Morocco’s First Woman Head of Government

King Mohammed VI appointed Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri as Morocco’s Head of Government on Tuesday, 29 September 2026, making her the first woman to hold the office.

The Royal Palace announcement also tasked El Mansouri with forming the new government following Morocco’s 23 September parliamentary election.

The appointment is a major institutional first for Morocco. It also starts the next stage of the post-election process: assembling a government able to command a parliamentary majority.

Why she was appointed

El Mansouri is a senior figure in the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), which finished first in the election with 97 of the 395 seats in the House of Representatives.

Under Article 47 of Morocco’s Constitution, the King appoints the Head of Government from the political party that comes first in elections to the House of Representatives.

PAM does not hold a majority on its own. A majority requires 198 seats, so El Mansouri’s immediate political task is to form a governing coalition.

Who is Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri?

Born in Marrakech in 1976, El Mansouri trained in law before entering politics.

She first became mayor of Marrakech in 2009, the first woman to lead the city, and served until 2015. She returned to the mayor’s office after the 2021 local elections.

Before her appointment as Head of Government, she served as Minister of National Territory Planning, Urban Planning, Housing and City Policy. She has also been part of PAM’s collective leadership since 2024.

Her career has therefore crossed municipal government, parliament, national government and party leadership before reaching the premiership.

What happens next?

The appointment does not mean the full new cabinet has been announced.

El Mansouri has been charged with forming a government. Coalition negotiations and the composition of the next cabinet are therefore the next developments to watch.

MoroccoMag will update this story when the composition of the new government is officially confirmed.

This article was published on 29 September 2026 and will be updated as the new government is formed.