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King Mohammed VI appointed Marrakesh Mayor Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri as Morocco's first woman prime minister on Tuesday, following her centre-right Authenticity and Modernity Party's dominant parliamentary victory.
The PAM won 97 of 395 House of Representatives seats, 31 more than the second-place party, though voter turnout reached its lowest level in 20 years.
The royal cabinet tasked the 50-year-old, who previously served as housing minister, with "forming the new government". El Mansouri announced her appointment was "truly historic” in a televised address.
"For the first time in our country's history, a woman is taking on the responsibility of leading the government," she said. "This is a source of pride not only for me but for all Moroccan women."
Without an outright majority, the PAM must form a coalition with other parties, though the king retains broad powers over major policies.
El Mansouri joined the PAM in 2008, the year it was founded by current royal adviser Fouad Ali El Himma as a counterweight to the country's Islamist movement. She was also the first woman to serve as mayor of Marrakesh, winning the office in 2009 before losing it six years later, then retaking it in 2021.
El Mansouri's cabinet must address several pressing issues, including unemployment and living costs, as well as persistent social disparities weighing particularly on young people.
The parliamentary vote came weeks after tens of thousands of mainly young Moroccan migrants rushed into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, a crisis that highlighted socioeconomic frustrations among youth. It also followed a Gen Z protest movement demanding better health and education.
"We are fully aware that this period will be significant and marked by high expectations from Moroccans, particularly young people," El Mansouri said. "That is why we will have a programme offering concrete and realistic solutions to citizens' concerns."
Her party has pledged average annual economic growth of 5%, inflation of 2% and the creation of at least one million new jobs over its five-year term.
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