Morocco Makes History As Woman Becomes Prime Minister

(Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri. Photo by The SUn Nigeria)

King Mohammed VI has appointed Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri as Morocco's first female prime minister and asked her to form a new government.

The Royal Palace announced this on Tuesday, saying the King received her at the palace in Rabat before naming her head of government as the constitution provides.

Her appointment follows the September 23 parliamentary election, where her party, the Authenticity and Modernity Party, won the most seats in the 395 member House of Representatives.

It took 97 seats, ahead of the National Rally of Independents with 66 and the Istiqlal Party with 65.

Since no party has a majority, she will have to talk to other parties to build a coalition government.

Morocco is a constitutional monarchy where the King keeps wide powers, and the constitution says he must pick the head of government from the party with the most seats.

El Mansouri, 50, is a lawyer and former mayor of Marrakech.

In the outgoing government, she was the minister in charge of national territory planning, urban planning, housing and city policy.

She is the first woman to lead Morocco's government and only the second woman to be prime minister in the Arab world, after Tunisia's Najla Bouden.

The new government will oversee Morocco's preparations for the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which it will co-host with Spain and Portugal.

It will also have to deal with pressure over youth unemployment and public services.