King Mohammed VI appoints new Moroccan government headed by first female prime minister

King Mohammed VI has sworn in a new Moroccan government headed by Fatima Zahra Al-Mansouri, the country's first woman to lead the executive branch.

• Al-Mansouri was appointed head of government at Friday's ceremony at the royal palace, becoming the first woman to lead Morocco's executive branch.
• The 32-member cabinet retained the sovereign portfolios of interior, foreign affairs, justice, religious affairs, and national defense.
• The government includes six women, about 19 percent of members, and creates a new portfolio for artificial intelligence and digital transformation.
• Al-Mansouri, of the Authenticity and Modernity Party, was tasked with forming the government in late September after the party topped the September 23 parliamentary election.
• The new administration is a four-party coalition of 31 ministers from the Authenticity and Modernity, Istiqlal, Socialist Union, and Progress and Socialism parties.
• The September 23 legislative elections recorded a 38 percent turnout, among the lowest in two decades.
• The four-party coalition also includes independents, with the Authenticity and Modernity Party holding ten portfolios.
• The new cabinet retains the finance ministry in addition to the interior and foreign affairs portfolios.
• The government's program is the next step, to be presented to parliament for approval.