MOROCCO · POLITICS
Key Facts
- —What is happening King Mohammed VI presided over the appointment of Morocco’s new government at the Royal Palace in Rabat on Friday, 16 October 2026, and the ministers took the oath before him.
- —Why it matters The ceremony completes the cabinet led by Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri, named head of government on 29 September, and ends the formation process in a close US partner in North Africa.
- —The numbers The published list has 32 members: the head of government, the Secretary General of the Government, 19 ministers and 11 ministers delegate, who work under a senior minister.
- —Who is who El Mansouri coordinates the collective leadership of the Authenticity and Modernity Party, allied with Istiqlal, USFP and PPS; Nasser Bourita holds Foreign Affairs and Fouzi Lekjaa holds Economy and Finance.
- —What to watch The government must now present its programme to Parliament, but no date for that presentation or for the confidence vote has been announced.
- —Prediction markets Polymarket gives El Mansouri a 97% chance in its “Next Prime Minister of Morocco? (Invested)” market, and 98% that Aziz Akhannouch is out by 31 December (16 October, 12:06 p.m. ET).
- —What it means for you For US firms and travellers, a seated government in Rabat keeps trade, investment and security policy with Washington on a predictable footing, with Bourita still leading foreign policy.
King Mohammed VI has sworn in Morocco’s new government under Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri. The cabinet has 19 ministers and 11 ministers delegate.
The Morocco government took its final shape on Friday, 16 October 2026, as King Mohammed VI presided at Rabat’s Royal Palace. The new ministers took the oath before the King, who then posed with them for a commemorative photograph.
Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri leads the team as head of government, the post that works like a prime minister in Morocco. For US readers the ceremony matters because Morocco is a close American partner, so its cabinet shapes trade, security and energy talks.
What Happened at the Royal Palace
Alyaoum24 and Le Matin both report that the ceremony took place on Friday, 16 October, or 4 Jumada al-Ula 1448. The King’s Chamberlain, Sidi Mohammed El Alaoui, attended, according to both outlets.
The members of the new government swore the oath in the King’s presence, and a group photograph followed. Morocco is a constitutional monarchy, and the King appoints ministers on the proposal of the head of government.
The King had named El Mansouri head of government on Tuesday, 29 September, under Article 47 of the constitution. A Royal Cabinet communiqué carried by MAP said he received her at the palace and tasked her with forming a government.
Weeks of coalition talks followed that audience. On Monday, 12 October, four parties announced a majority agreement: the Authenticity and Modernity Party, Istiqlal, the USFP and the PPS.
Who Sits in the Morocco Government
The published list names 32 members, counting the head of government and Hassan Tariq, the Secretary General of the Government. The Secretary General is a senior civil servant who coordinates the government’s legal work and is not a minister.
Nineteen are full ministers, and eleven are ministers delegate, junior ministers attached to a senior minister or to the head of government. Alyaoum24 and Le Matin list the same portfolios, with small differences in how they spell some names.
Abdelouafi Laftit holds Interior, Nasser Bourita holds Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Abroad, and Abdellatif Ouahbi holds Justice. Fouzi Lekjaa is minister of Economy, Finance and Public Performance, and Nizar Baraka heads Equipment, Water and Forests.
Nabil Benabdallah leads National Education, Preschool, Vocational Training and Qualification, while Ryad Mezzour holds Industry, Trade, Investment and the Inclusive Economy. Charafat Afailal heads Energy, Mines and Sustainable Development, and Abdessamad Kayouh holds Transport and Logistics.
Ahmed Rahhou holds Artificial Intelligence, Digital Transformation and Administrative Reform, with a delegate minister for administrative reform beside him. Jalal Charaf holds Tourism, Handicrafts and the Solidarity Economy, and Samir Belfkih holds Territorial Planning, Urban Planning and Housing.
Belfkih is also the government spokesperson, and Najwa Koukouss holds Family, Social Development and Equality. Ahmed Toufiq keeps the Habous and Islamic Affairs portfolio, which runs religious endowments and mosques.
Two delegate ministers sit under the head of government: Abdeltif Loudyi for National Defence Administration and Kouloub Faitah for Parliament relations. The remaining delegates cover foreign trade, fisheries, preschool, vocational training, housing, youth, social inclusion, administrative reform and handicrafts.
How Rabat Got to This Cabinet
El Mansouri coordinates the collective leadership of the Authenticity and Modernity Party, known by its French initials PAM. MAP’s account of the 29 September audience identifies her in that role.
On Thursday, 15 October, PAM negotiator Abdellatif Ouahbi told 2M the number of portfolios was not yet settled. Ouahbi, who is now justice minister, spoke of a tight team and of a fair place for women, Le Matin reported.
Within a day the full list was published, so the exact size of the cabinet became clear only at the ceremony. Alyaoum24 and Le Matin give the same total of 32 members, including the head of government.
Istiqlal, the Socialist Union of Popular Forces and the Party of Progress and Socialism joined the PAM in that majority. Istiqlal is a nationalist party, while the USFP and the PPS sit on the centre left.
What It Means for US Readers
Morocco is a major non-NATO ally of the United States and signed a free trade agreement with Washington in 2004. A seated government ends weeks of waiting on ministerial decisions that matter to American companies and officials.
Bourita remains the minister for foreign affairs, the office that handles Morocco’s relations with Washington and its position on Western Sahara. Washington recognised Moroccan sovereignty over that territory in December 2020, and the foreign ministry will manage that file.
Energy, Mines and Sustainable Development sits under Afailal, and phosphates and renewable energy are central to US investor interest. Industry, Trade and Investment sits under Mezzour, the portfolio that deals with carmakers and other exporters selling to the US market.
Tourism under Charaf and Transport and Logistics under Kayouh matter as Morocco prepares to co-host the 2030 football World Cup. None of the lists announces a new policy or changes travel conditions for visitors.
What Prediction Markets Say
Polymarket’s market on Morocco’s next invested prime minister priced El Mansouri at 97% on 16 October at 12:06 p.m. ET. About US$20,200 has traded on her contract and about US$34,900 on the whole event.
A separate market on Akhannouch leaving office by 31 December 2026 stood at 98% at 12:06 p.m. ET, using the last trade. That market has seen about US$173,300 in volume, and the platform sets its own resolution rules.
Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely. We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.
What Is Not Known
The published lists do not give the party of most ministers, so the split among the four majority parties is unclear. It is also not stated which ministers are new to government and which held portfolios before.
No date has been announced for the government’s programme or for the confidence vote in Parliament. The Royal Cabinet text for the ceremony was not available, so the account rests on Alyaoum24 and Le Matin.
TelQuel and other outlets call her the first woman to lead a Moroccan government, though the MAP communiqué is silent on it. The sources also give no count of women in the cabinet, so none is stated here.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happened in Morocco on 16 October 2026?
King Mohammed VI presided over the appointment of the new government’s members at the Royal Palace in Rabat. The ministers took the oath before him on Friday, 16 October.
Who is Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri?
She is head of government, named by the King on 29 September under Article 47 of the constitution. She coordinates the collective leadership of the Authenticity and Modernity Party.
How many ministers are in the new Morocco government?
The published list names 32 members in total. That is the head of government, the Secretary General of the Government, 19 ministers and 11 ministers delegate.
Is El Mansouri Morocco’s first woman head of government?
TelQuel and other regional outlets say so, and the MAP statement does not make that claim. The claim is attributed here and nothing else in this article depends on it.
What happens next for the new government?
Under the constitution the head of government presents the programme to Parliament and seeks a confidence vote. No date for either step has been announced.
Sources: Alyaoum24; Le Matin; Le Matin, Ouahbi interview; Royal Cabinet communiqué via MAP, 29 September; TelQuel. Related Rio Times coverage: Morocco to Appoint First Woman-Led Cabinet and Who Holds Power in Morocco (all accessed 16 October 2026).
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief
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