In foreign policy, Mohammed continued in the moderate tradition established by his father, who was held to be a moderating influence among Arab nations and in relations between the Arab world and the West.[12] He strengthened Morocco's ties with key global players, including theUnited States, theEuropean Union, andChina, and prioritized relations with African countries and international recognition ofMorocco's claim to the territory ofWestern Sahara. During his rule,Morocco became the sixthArab League country tonormalize ties with Israel under theAbraham Accords.[13]
Mohammed has vast business holdings across several economic sectors in Morocco. His net worth has been estimated at betweenUS$2.1 billion[14] and overUS$5.2 billion.[15][16] In 2015,Forbes named him therichest king in Africa and the fifthwealthiest monarch in the world.[17][18] In 2019, he had a reported personal wealth of $8.2 billion.[19]
Mohammed's father was keen on giving him a religious and political education from an early age; at the age of four, he started attending theQuranic school at the Royal Palace.[1] His educational routine commenced at 6 am with an hour-longrecitation of theQuran, followed by formal lessons. He completed his first primary and secondary studies at theCollège Royal, a specialized college constructed within the fortified walls of the palace. Hassan II, desiring his son to experience competitive pressure, selected 12 classmates recognized for their intellect to accompany Mohammed in his studies. As depicted inLe Roi prédateur, a 2012 biography authored by two French journalists, there is an account of Hassan instructing his aides to administer twenty lashes to Mohammed when he appeared to lag in his studies.[21]
At the age of ten, Mohammed began representing his father at foreign engagements, the first being the funeral of French presidentGeorges Pompidou in 1974.[22] According to a childhood friend, Mohammed harboured fantasies about the world beyond the palace walls and seldom ventured outside. One of his favourite songs was "Breakfast in America" by the English rock bandSupertramp, which celebrates the allure of travel by jumbo jet. Mohammed excelled in languages.[21]
In 1987, Mohammed obtained his firstCertificat d'Études Supérieures (CES) in political sciences, and in July 1988 he obtained aDiplôme d'Études Approfondies (DEA) in public law.[1] In November 1988, he trained inBrussels withJacques Delors, the President of theEuropean Commission.[1]
According to a biography by Ferran Sales Aige, Mohammed's father received reports from his spies indicating that the young prince was visiting bars regularly. This led to a deepening dissatisfaction from the king towards his son. In a moment of despair, Hassan II was rumoured to have described his son's behaviour as a "chromosome error." Mohammed was sent to study law inNice, with his activities closely monitored by the interior minister dispatched by his father.[21] He obtained hisPhD in lawwith distinction on 29 October 1993 from the FrenchUniversity of Nice Sophia Antipolis for his thesis on "EEC-Maghreb Relations".[1] On 12 July 1994, he was promoted to the military rank ofMajor General, and that same year he became president of the High Council of Culture andCommander-in-Chief of the Royal Moroccan Army.
According to theNew York Times, before ascending to the throne, Mohammed "gained a reputation as a playboy during the years he spent waiting in the wings, showing a fondness for fast cars and nightclubs."[24] Over time, a noticeable estrangement developed between him and his father. He actively avoided encounters with Hassan II, even during his visits to Morocco. Instead, he frequently frequented Amnesia, an illicit club located underground in the capital city. According toLe Roi prédateur, Mohammed's close friend from school,Fouad Ali El Himma, facilitated his visits to Amnesia by installing a private lift from his apartment above that descended directly to the club's premises.[21]
Mohammed ascended the throne on thedeath of his father on 23 July 1999.[25] He was formally enthroned one week later and made a televised address, promising to take on poverty andcorruption, while creating jobs and improvingMorocco's human rights record.Islamist conservatives opposed his reformist rhetoric, and some of his reforms angeredfundamentalists.[3][26] His initial directives also included the dismissal of his father's hardline interior minister,Driss Basri, and the appointment of some of his former classmates to key positions in the state bureaucracy.[27]
Mohammed and his sister,Princess Lalla Meryem, made a state visit to the United States in June 2000, as guests of the presidentBill Clinton.[28] TheBush administration designated Morocco as amajor non-NATO ally in 2004. The two countries later signed a free-trade agreement in 2006, the only one of its kind between the United States and an African country, which was met with some criticism within Morocco due to increasingtrade deficit.[29]
In February 2004, Mohammed enacted a new family code (Mudawana), which granted women more power.[3] In July, he announced that Morocco would lift visa restrictions for Algerians, with Algerian presidentAbdelaziz Bouteflika reciprocating the measure in 2005.[30] Mohammed also created theEquity and Reconciliation Commission, which was tasked with researchinghuman rights violations under Hassan II. This move was welcomed by many as promotingdemocracy but was also criticized because the commission's reports did not name the perpetrators. According to human rights organizations, human rights violations are still common in Morocco.[31][32][33]
The2011 Moroccan protests, led by the 20 February Movement, were primarily motivated by corruption and general political discontentment, as well as by the hardships of theglobal economic crisis. Then-recent revolutions influenced the demonstrations inTunisia andEgypt which overthrew their respective leaders, and demands by protesters included "urgent" political and social reforms, including the relinquishment of some of the King's powers.[36]
In a speech delivered on 9 March 2011, Mohammed said that parliament would receive "new powers that enable it to discharge its representative, legislative, and regulatory mission". In addition, the powers of the judiciary were granted greater independence from the king, who announced that he was empanelling a committee of legal scholars to produce a draft constitution by June 2011.[37] On 1 July, voters approved a set of political reforms proposed by the king in areferendum.
The state preserves and protects theHassaniya Arabic dialect and all the linguistic components ofMoroccan culture as a heritage of the nation.[9]
Theprime minister (officially titled "head of government") presides over the Council of Government, which prepares the general policy of the state; previously the king held this position. The prime minister also has the power to dissolve the parliament.[38]
The king now must appoint the prime minister from the party that wins the most seats in the parliamentary elections, but it can be any member of the winning party and not necessarily the party's leader. Previously, the king could nominate anybody he wanted for this position regardless of the election results. That was usually the case when no party had a big advantage over the other parties, in terms of the number of seats in theparliament.[5][39][40]
The king is no longer "sacred or holy" but the "integrity of his person" is "inviolable".[41]
High administrative and diplomatic posts (including ambassadors, CEOs of state-owned companies, and provincial and regional governors) are now appointed by the prime minister and the ministerial council which is presided over by the king; previously the latter exclusively held this power.[42]
The parliament has the power to grant amnesty. Previously this was also exclusively held by the king.[43]
The king guarantees the independence of the judiciary system from the legislative and executive branches.[38][44]
Women are guaranteed "civic and social" equality with men. Previously, only "political equality" was guaranteed, though the 1996 constitution granted all citizens equality in terms of rights before the law.[40]
The king retains complete control over the armed forces and the judiciary as well as matters about religion and foreign policy, as well as the authority to appoint and dismiss prime ministers.[45]
In theory, all citizens have freedom of thought, ideas, artistic expression and creation. Previously only free speech and the freedom of circulation and association were guaranteed. However,criticizing or directly opposing the king is still punishable with prison.[40][46]
In January 2017, Morocco banned the manufacturing, marketing, and sale of theburqa.[47]
Beginning in late 2019, several countries which supported Morocco in theWestern Sahara conflict established consulates in the Western Saharan cities ofLaayoune andDakhla, with a total of 28 as of 2023.[48] In November 2020, anescalation of the ongoingWestern Sahara conflict began when Sahrawi protesters blocked a road connectingGuerguerat tosub-Saharan Africa via Mauritania. Morocco responded by intervening militarily to resume the movement of people and goods through Guerguerat, which the Polisario Front said had violated the 1991 ceasefire agreement.[49][50]
In May 2023, Mohammed authorized the creation of a national public holiday forYennayer (Berber New Year).[58]
Following theSeptember 2023 Al Haouz earthquake which killed nearly three thousand people, Mohammed visited hospitals to support victims and donated blood for the needy.[59][60][61] Under his instructions, the royal holdingAl Mada donated one billion dirhams for relief operations of quake-hit regions.[62][63]
JointU.S.-Israeli delegation meeting with Mohammed VI during a visit to Rabat, 22 December 2020
Pedro Sánchez at a dinner with Mohammed and his entourage, 2022
In the latter part of his reign, Mohammed increasingly prioritized African relations in Morocco's foreign policy.[64] In July 2016, Mohammed addressed a letter to the 27thAfrican Union (AU) summit inKigali, in which he requested Moroccan admission to the organization. Morocco had previously been a member of the AU's predecessor, theOrganisation of African Unity, until it withdrew in 1984 in protest at the admission of theSahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. Mohammed justified his country's withdrawal saying that "the admission of a non-sovereign entity, by means of transgression and collusion" had prompted Morocco to "seek to avoid the division of Africa".[65] Morocco was admitted to the African Union in January 2017.
Under his administration, Morocco developed partnerships with theGulf Cooperation Council as well as other non-traditionalgreat powers, mainly China and Russia, intending to diversify trade links and foreign investments and limit Morocco's traditional reliance on theEuropean Union and other Western countries.[66][64][67] The country offered to act as a mediator in theLibyan crisis and remained neutral in theQatar diplomatic crisis.[68][29]
In August 2022, Mohammed confirmed in a speech that the Western Sahara issue would form the basis for Morocco's foreign policy, through which it "measures the sincerity of friendships and the efficiency of partnerships". He called on other countries "to clarify their positions" on the conflict "and reconsider them in a manner that leaves no room for doubt".[74] In 2023, Israel under thethird Netanyahu government became the second country to recognize Moroccan sovereignty over the territory,[75] followed byParaguay the following year.[76]
Relations with neighbouring Algeria remained strained, despite calls from Mohammed for a reconciliation.[77] Tensions intensified in the 2020s, primarily as a result of the Israel–Morocco normalization agreement and Western Saharan border clashes. In August 2021, Algeria accused Morocco of supporting theMovement for the Self-Determination of Kabylie, which it blamed forwildfires in northern Algeria,[78] and later severed diplomatic relations with Morocco.[79]
In February 2023, Mohammed and his foreign ministerNasser Bourita visitedGabon, meeting with its presidentAli Bongo and conducting a donation of 2,000 tonnes of fertilizer to the country.[80][81] On 4 December 2023, Mohammed and his entourage made an official visit toDubai, at the invitation of UAE President SheikhMohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in which the two leaders signed a declaration committing to the development of "deep-rooted" bilateral relations.[82][83]
Mohammed is Morocco's leading businessman and banker.[84] In 2015, he was estimated byForbes magazine to be worth US$5.7bn[15] although in 2019Business Insider quoted a figure of just US$2.1 billion.[14] The Moroccan Royal Family, meanwhile, has one of the largest fortunes in the world.[85] Together, they hold the majority stakes in theAl Mada holding, formerly named theSociété Nationale d'Investissement (SNI), which was originally state-owned but was merged in 2013 with Omnium Nord Africain (ONA Group), to form a singleholding company that was taken off theCasablanca Stock Exchange—resulting in the scrapping of an equivalent of 50 billion dirhamsmarketcap (~US$6 billion).[86] Al Mada has a diverse portfolio consisting of many important businesses in Morocco, operating in various sectors including:Attijariwafa Bank (banking),Managem (mining), Onapar,SOMED (tourism/real-estate and exclusive distributor ofMaserati), Wafa Assurance (insurance),Marjane (hypermarket chain),Wana-Inwi (telecommunications),SONASID (siderurgy),Lafarge Maroc,Sopriam (exclusive distributor ofPeugeot-Citroën in Morocco),Renault Maroc (exclusive distributor of Renault in Morocco) andNareva (energy).[87][88] It also owns many food-processing companies and is currently in the process of disengaging from this sector.[87] Between mid-2012 and 2013, the holding soldLessieur,Centrale Laitière,Bimo andCosumar to foreign groups for a total amount of ~$1.37 billion (11.4 billion Dirhams including 9.7 billion in 2013 and 1.7 in 2012).[87]
Mohammed VI has been on everyMoroccan dirham banknote since 2002.
Mohammed is also a leading agricultural producer and land owner in Morocco, where agriculture is exempted from taxes.[87] His personal holding companySIGER has shares in the large agricultural groupLes domaines agricoles (originally calledLes domaines royaux, now commonly known asLes domaines), which was founded by Hassan II.[87] In 2008,Telquel estimated thatLes domaines had a revenue of $157 million (1.5 billion dirhams), with 170,000 tons ofcitrus exported in that year.[87] According to the same magazine, the company officially owns 12,000hectares of agricultural lands.[87]Chergui, a manufacturer ofdairy products, is the most recognizable brand of the group.[87] Between 1994 and 2004, the group has been managed by Mohammed VI's brother-in-law Khalid Benharbit, the husband ofPrincess Lalla Hasna.[87]Les domaines also owns the Royal Golf de Marrakech, which originally belonged toThami El Glaoui.[87]
His palace's daily operating budget is reported byForbes to be $960,000, which is paid by the Moroccan state as part of a 2.576 billion dirhams/year budget as of 2014,[92] with much of it accounted for by the expense of personnel, clothes, and car repairs.[85]
Protests broke out in Rabat, the capital of Morocco, on 2 August 2013, after Mohammed pardoned 48 jailed Spaniards, including Daniel Galván, a pedophile who had been serving a 30-year sentence for raping 11 children aged between 4 and 15.[93] Upon the protests, the King revoked Galván's pardon and Morocco issued an international arrest warrant; Galván was arrested in Spain, where he continued his sentence.[94]
Those pardoned included a drug trafficking suspect, who was released before standing trial.[95] The detainee, Antonio Garcia, a recidivist drug trafficker, had been arrested in possession of 9 tons ofhashish inTangier and was sentenced to 10 years.[96] He had resisted arrest using a firearm.[95] Some media claimed that his release embarrassed Spain.[96]
Royal involvement in business is a major topic in Morocco, but public discussion of it is sensitive. The US embassy in Rabat reported to Washington in a leaked cable that "corruption is prevalent at all levels of Moroccan society".[4] Corruption allegedly reaches the highest levels in Morocco, where the business interests of Mohammed VI and some of his advisors influence "every large housing project," according toWikiLeaks documents published in December 2010 and quoted inThe Guardian newspaper.[97] The documents released by the whistleblower website also quote the case of a businessman working for a US consortium, whose plans in Morocco were paralysed for months after he refused to join forces with a company linked with the royal palace. The documents quoted a company executive linked to the royal family as saying at a meeting that decisions on big investments in the kingdom were taken by only three people: the king, his secretaryMounir Majidi, and the monarch's close friend, adviser and former classmateFouad Ali El Himma. This corruption especially affects the housing sector, the WikiLeaks documents show.[98]
Mohammed has three sisters:Princess Lalla Meryem,Princess Lalla Asma, andPrincess Lalla Hasna and one brother,Prince Moulay Rachid. TheNew York Times noted "conflicting reports about whether the new monarch had been married on Friday night, within hours of his father's death [in 1999]... to heed a Moroccan tradition that a King be married before he ascends the throne." A palace official subsequently denied that a marriage had taken place.[24]
In June 2022, Mohammed tested positive forCOVID-19.[114][115] His personal doctor said he did not exhibit symptoms and recommended "a period of rest for a few days".Jeune Afrique reported that he contracted the disease while on a private visit to France.[116] On 10 July 2022, he made his first public appearance since his COVID-19 diagnosis when he performedEid al-Adha rituals and prayers.[116]
Mohammed temporarily used acane in late 2024, reportedly due tosciatica which caused muscle contraction in his lower back.[109][117] In December 2024 he underwent surgery after fracturing his left shoulder in a fall.[118]
On 19 May 2022, Mohammed was awarded the Esquipulas Peace Prize by the Forum of Legislative Presidents of Central America and the Caribbean Basin (FOPREL).[138][139][140]
On 14 March 2023, Mohammed was awarded the President's Outstanding Achievement Award byCAF.[141][142]
^Ahmed Reda Benchemsi; Fahd Iraqi (18 July 2009)."Le Businessman"(PDF).TelQuel. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 11 December 2013. Retrieved18 November 2013.
^"His Majesty King Mohammed VI".Embassy of Morocco Australia-New zealand-Pacific States. 4 August 2012.Archived from the original on 31 May 2022. Retrieved19 May 2022.
_(cropped).jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.svg)
.gif)
.gif)
_-_ribbon_bar.gif)
_-_ribbon_bar.gif)
_-_ribbon_bar.gif)
_GC_2nd_type_ribbon.svg)
_-_ribbon_bar.png)
_-_ribbon_bar.png)
.gif)
.png)
.png)
.gif)
