Abderrahmane Youssoufi | |
---|---|
عبد الرحمن اليوسفي | |
Prime Minister of Morocco | |
In office 4 February 1998 – 9 October 2002 | |
Monarchs |
Hassan II Mohammed VI |
Preceded by | Abdellatif Filali |
Succeeded by | Driss Jettou |
Personal details | |
Born | Tangier, Morocco | 8 March 1924
Died | 29 May 2020 Casablanca, Morocco | (aged 96)
Political party | Socialist Union of Popular Forces |
Abderrahmane Youssoufi ( /ɑːbdɛˈræxmɑːn ˈjuːsuːfi/ ahb-deh-RAH-mahn YOO-soo-fee; Arabic: عبد الرحمن اليوسفي; 8 March 1924 – 29 May 2020) was a Moroccan politician and human rights lawyer who served as the 12th Prime Minister of Morocco from 1998 to 2002, [1] [2] serving under King Hassan II and King Mohammed VI. [3] [4] He was the Secretary General of the Socialist Union of Popular Forces ( French: Union Socialiste des Forces Populaires, USFP). [5]
Born in Tangier, [6] Youssoufi was a socialist from a young age, [6] dedicating himself to organizing the working class of Casablanca as early as 1944. [6] In 1949 Youssoufi began also to fight for the rights of immigrant Moroccan workers in France. [6] He also studied law, practicing in Tangier from 1952 to 1960. [7]
The Youssoufi family were of Berbers origin, and the future prime minister spoke only Tamazight and French until he began school, where he learned standard Arabic and Darija (Moroccan Arabic). [8]
Youssoufi evolves within the Army of Liberation in the company of its formidable leader Fqih Basri. [9] Through Mehdi Ben Barka, Youssoufi joined a group of passionate young men who shared a vision: An independent Morocco. Youssoufi became a member of the Al Istiqlal (Independence) Party and, at only 19 years old, threw himself into the fight for a free Morocco. [10] He was nicknamed Lenin by the Moroccan police for his excessive Nationalism. [11] He was arrested Twice, once imprisoned for his political dissidence, he was one of the most important figures in Morocco’s political scene. [12] his participation in the creation of the Arab Organization for Human Rights
In 1959, Youssoufi was one of the founders of the National Union of Popular Forces, a left-wing political party. [13] He was arrested for his involvement in 1959 and again in 1963, [6] the latter arrest leading to a prison sentence of two years. [7] Following his release, Youssoufi went into self-imposed exile in Paris for a period of fifteen years. [7] Later he returned to Morocco. [14] Meanwhile, the National Union of Popular Forces became the Socialist Union of Popular Forces and Abderrahmane Youssoufi was appointed its permanent delegate outside the country, and later, in 1978, a member of its political bureau. [15] In 1980 Youssoufi returned to join the new party, [16] becoming the party secretary in 1992 after the death of Abderrahim Bouabid. [1]
In 1983, he co-founded the Arab Organization for Human Rights along with Egyptian sociologist Saad Eddin Ibrahim and French-Syrian sociologist Burhan Ghalioun. [17] [18]
On 4 February 1998, following the victory of Youssoufi's party in the 1997 Moroccan general election, King Hassan II named Youssoufi the Prime Minister of Morocco. [19] [20] Youssoufi formed a left-center government which would provide greater freedoms for the people and media. [21] [1] In 2002, the USFP was re-elected to a majority in the general election that year, although King Mohammed VI appointed a technocrat, Driss Jettou, to succeed Youssoufi as Prime Minister. On 28 October 2003, Abderrahmane Youssoufi resigned from his post as First Secretary of the USFP. [22]
In February 2005, Youssoufi announced his retirement from politics. [13] He began to live in Casablanca after his retirement. [1] On 15 October 2016, Youssoufi was hospitalized for pneumonia and King Mohammed VI visited him in the hospital. [23] [24] He had no children. [25]
Youssoufi died on 29 May 2020, at the age of 96 due to lung cancer. [26] [27] His funeral took place Friday at the “Chouhada” (martyrs) cemetery in Casablanca in the presence of a small number of relatives due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. [28]
In 1991, Youssoufi was one of the two winners of the North-South Prize. [30] In 2016, King Mohammed VI of Morocco honored Youssoufi by naming an avenue in Tangier after him. [31] [32]