Morocco government

28 October 2013

Six key officials in the country’s new coalition government: Abdelilah Benkirane, Mohamed Hassad, Abdelkader Amara, Mohamed Boussaid, Salaheddine Mezouar and Moulay Hafid Elalamy

Abdelilah Benkirane

Position: Prime minister

Biography: Abdelilah Benkirane is the prime minister of Morocco. He is also the leader of the Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD). The PJD has been the dominant party in power since the parliamentary elections in November 2011, when it won the most seats. Due to new reforms, King Mohamed VI had to select a member of the winning party to head the coalition government. It marked the first time the PJD was in power and the first time an Islamic party has been in charge of the country. The king still retains the right to veto government decisions and Benkirane has publicly stated his pro-monarchy stance. He became head of the PJD in 2008, after having been elected president of the party’s national council in 2004. Benkirane obtained a degree in physical sciences in 1979 and was a professor at the Ecole Normale Superieure in Rabat until 1988. He attended Moulay Youssef High School in Rabat.

Contact Tel: (+212) 5 3721 9400

Mohamed Hassad

Position: Interior minister

Biography: Mohamed Hassad is the newly-appointed interior minister, selected by the king in October. His appointment is part of a reshuffle following the resignation of ministers from the Islamic Istiqlal party earlier this year. Before taking up his role in government, Hassad was chairman of the supervisory board of the Tangier Mediterranean Special Agency, the organisation overseeing the development of Tangier port. He was appointed to that role in November 2012. Since 2005, Hassad has been wali (governor) of the Tangier-Tetouan and Tangier-Asilah regions. Prior to that, he was wali of the Marrakech-Tensift-El-Haouz region from July 2001. In the 1990s, Hassad was active in Morocco’s aviation sector, first as chief executive officer of Royal Air Morocco and then as elected head of the international air transport association in Francophone countries in 1997. He graduated from Paris National School of Bridges and Roads in 1976.

Contact Tel: (+212) 5 3776 4243

Abdelkader Amara

Position: Energy, mining, water and environment minister

Biography: Abdelkader Amara is Morocco’s new energy, mining, water and environment minister. He was previously industry and commerce minister, a role he assumed in January 2012. Moulay Hafid Elalamy replaced Amara in early October as part of the government reshuffle. Amara is a member of the PJD and is currently the party’s treasurer. He began his political career in 2002, when he became a member of parliament for the city of Sale. During the 1990s, Amara worked as an adviser for a scientific research organisation in Sweden. He is a founding member of the Association of Moroccan Parliamentarians Against Corruption and a former member of the administrative committee of the National Union of Higher Education. Amara has a doctorate degree from the Hassan II Agronomy and Veterinary Institute in Rabat. 

Contact Tel: (+212) 5 3768 8857  

Mohamed Boussaid

Position: Economy and finance minister

Biography: Mohamed Boussaid was appointed economy and finance minister in the government reshuffle announced in mid-October. He replaces Aziz Akhanouch, who held the role for two years. Boussaid is a member of the centre-right National Rally of Independents (RNI) party, the political organisation that has been brought into the coalition following the resignation of some members of the Istiqlal party. The deal brokered between the dominant coalition member – the PJD – and the RNI has avoided the need for new elections. Before being appointed to government, Boussaid was active in national and regional politics, and was wali of Casablanca from May 2012. In October 2007, Boussaid was appointed tourism minister. Between 1998 and 2001, he was manager of programmes and studies at the public works ministry. Boussaid is a civil engineer, having graduated from the Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussees in Paris in 1986.

Contact Tel: (+212) 5 3767 7501

Salaheddine Mezouar

Position: Foreign affairs minister

Biography: Salaheddine Mezouar was appointed foreign affairs minister in Morocco’s government reshuffle. He replaces Saadeddine Othmani, a member of the PJD. Mezouar is president of the RNI party, a role he assumed in January 2010. He has been a member of the chamber of representatives since the parliamentary elections in 2011. Mezouar was previously the economy and finance minister from 2007 until January 2012, when the coalition government headed by Benkirane was formed. In 2004, he was appointed industry and commerce minister. Mezouar has also worked for a private textiles company and the Moroccan Ports and Harbours Authority, and was chairman of the supervisory board for Maroc Telecom. He has an executive management diploma from Insead and a postgraduate diploma and a master’s degree in economic science from Grenoble University of Social Sciences, both in France.

Contact Tel: (+212) 5 3776 1125

Moulay Hafid Elalamy

Position: Industry and commerce minister

Biography: Moulay Hafid Elalamy was appointed industry and commerce minister as part of the October reshuffle. He replaces Abdelkader Amara, a PJD member who is now the energy and mining minister. Elalamy is president of Saham Group, which has several interests in insurance, health services, microfinance and consumer credit. He set up the firm in 1995. Before this, Elalamy worked at African insurance company Omnium Nord-Africain. He started his career in Canada, where he advised the finance ministry before joining Canadian insurance provider Saint-Maurice. Between 2006 and 2009, Elalamy was chairman of the board of the Moroccan General Confederation of Entrepreneurs, an organisation that represents local companies. He was also appointed vice-president of the Moroccan Federation of Insurance Companies and Reinsurance. Elalamy has an information systems degree from the University of Sherbrooke in Canada.

Contact Tel: (+212) 5 3776 1878

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