Morocco's King Mohammed VI appoints Fatima Zahra El Mansouri as the nation's first female prime minister
King Mohammed VI has appointed Fatima Zahra El Mansouri as Morocco's first female prime minister following her party's victory in the September 23 parliamentary elections. El Mansouri, a 50-year-old lawyer and former mayor of Marrakesh, leads the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), which won 97 seats but lacks the 198-seat majority needed to govern alone. She must now negotiate a coalition to form a government, facing challenges from youth unemployment, migration, and the massive costs of hosting the 2030 FIFA World Cup. Her appointment makes her the third woman to lead a government in the Arab world, following Tunisia's Najla Bouden and Sarra Zaafrani Zenzri.