The King of Morocco Mohammed VI has appointed the new government headed by Aziz Akhannouch, composed of 24 ministers, according to a statement released by the official Moroccan press agency, which also reported that the monarch had chaired, at the royal palace in the city of Fez, the ceremony of appointment of members of the new government.
The new government will be led by billionaire businessman Aziz Akhannouch, whose liberal National Rally of Independents (RNI) won the election last month, defeating the existing conservative Justice and Development Party (PJD).
The government formation included 24 ministers in addition to its leader, including seven women ministers, according to the same source.
Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and Interior Minister Abdelouafi Laftit were reappointed. Meanwhile, Nadia Fettah Alaoui, who was Minister of Tourism in the previous government, was appointed as economy and finance minister.
Abdellatif Ouahbi, the Authenticity and Modernity Party’s (PAM) leader, was named justice minister, while Istiqlal leader Nizar Baraka was given the responsibility of equipment and water.
The new government’s principal responsibility, in the monarchy where the King has the final say on all significant decisions, will be to implement a development plan commissioned by the palace with the goal of lowering inequality, reducing poverty, and stimulating growth.
On September 10, the Moroccan King appointed Aziz Akhannouch as Prime Minister in order to form the government after his party’s victory in the legislative elections.
Akhannouch announced on the 22nd of the same month that he had succeeded in forming a government made up of three parties: the National Rally of Independents, which won 102 out of 395 seats in parliament, the Authenticity and Modernity Party, which won 86 seats, and Istiqlal, that obtained 81 seats in total.
