Cabinet line-up

King Mohammed VI presided over the swearing-in of the new government on Friday, 16 October 2026, at the Royal Palace in Rabat. Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri, the first woman to lead a government in Morocco, heads an executive of 20 ministers, two of them women. A communiqué from the Royal Cabinet, relayed by the state news agency MAP, says the government will be completed by 11 delegate ministers, equivalent to deputy ministers, four of them women. The ministers took their oaths before the king.

The executive rests on a coalition of four parties: the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), the nationalist Istiqlal, the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP) and the Party of Progress and Socialism (PPS). Together they hold 207 of the 395 seats in the House of Representatives. Istiqlal was already a partner in the outgoing government, and the USFP sits in the Socialist International.

Election background

The PAM won 97 seats in the legislative elections of 23 September 2026, overtaking the National Rally of Independents (RNI), which won 66 seats and has been left out of the new coalition. Turnout was below 40%, according to reports from the period. Coverage links the vote to growing public disenchantment with the political and economic situation.

PAM97

RNI66

PAM

97 seats

RNI

66 seats

Data from the article text

Portfolios and continuity

The interior ministry stays with Abdelouafi Laftit, the foreign ministry with Nasser Bourita and the justice ministry with Abdellatif Ouahbi, all retained in their posts. The main change is in economic policy. Fouzi Lekjaa, president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, moves from the budget post he held in the outgoing government to lead the economy and finance ministry. Il Sole 24 ORE reports that the portfolio is now titled Economy, Finance and Public Performance. Ryad Mezzour receives Industry, Trade, Investment and Economic Inclusion, with Omar Hejira as delegate minister for foreign trade. Nizar Baraka takes Infrastructure, Water and Forests, and Khalid Hatimy receives Agriculture, Sea Fishing and Food Sovereignty.

Relations with Spain

The new cabinet takes office against the backdrop of a crisis with Spain. In late July 2026, tens of thousands of people entered the Spanish city of Ceuta irregularly, and Europa Press links that episode to the current strain in relations. Ouahbi, who stays in the justice post, publicly reaffirmed Morocco's claim over Ceuta and Melilla, according to Notícias ao Minuto, and Portuguese coverage notes his role in the outgoing government. The government's approach to Spain is not set out in the articles.

Economic agenda

Il Sole 24 ORE reads the new structure as an effort to link budget policy, investment and the quality of public administration. Social protection and territorial equity are listed among the government's priorities. The reviewed programme document sets no quantitative targets, deadlines or evaluation tools. Those elements will be needed to tell policy intent apart from measured results. The paper says the test will be whether the ministry mergers translate into measurable outcomes.