Upon ascending to the throne, Mohammed initially introduced a number of reforms and changed the family code, Mudawana, granting
women in Morocco more power.[8]Leaked diplomatic cables from
WikiLeaks in 2010 led to allegations of
corruption in the court of Mohammed, implicating him and his closest advisors.[9] In 2011,
protests in Morocco that were considered part of the wider
Arab Spring occurred against alleged government corruption. In response, Mohammed enacted several reforms and introduced
a new constitution. These reforms were passed by
public referendum on 1 July 2011.[10]
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 the Quranic school at the Royal Palace.[1] His educational routine commenced at 6 am with an hour-long recitation of the Quran, followed by formal lessons. He completed his first primary and secondary studies at the
Collège 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 in Le 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 behind in his studies.[12]
According to a childhood friend, Mohammed harbored fantasies about the world beyond the palace walls and seldom ventured outside. One of his favorite songs was “
Breakfast in America” by the English rock band
Supertramp, which celebrates the allure of travel by jumbo jet. Mohammed excelled in languages.[12]
In 1987, Mohammed obtained his first Certificat d'Études Supérieures (CES) in political sciences, and in July 1988 he obtained a Diplôme d'Études Approfondies (
DEA) in public law.[1] In November 1988, he trained in
Brussels with
Jacques Delors, the President of the
European 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 rumored to have described his son's behavior as a "chromosome error." Mohammed was sent to study law in
Nice, with his activities closely monitored by the interior minister dispatched by his father.[12] He obtained his
PhD in law
with distinction on 29 October 1993 from the French
University of Nice Sophia Antipolis for his thesis on "
EEC-
Maghreb Relations".[1] On 12 July 1994, he was promoted to the military rank of
Major General, and that same year he became president of the High Council of Culture and
Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Moroccan Army.
According to the New York Times, prior to 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."[14] 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 to Le 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.[12]
Mohammed ascended the throne on the death of his father on 23 July 1999, taking the regnal name of Mohammed VI.[15] His enthronement ceremony took place in
Rabat on 30 July.[16]
Domestic policy and social reforms
Shortly after his accession, Mohammed made a nationally televised address, promising to take on poverty and
corruption, while creating jobs and improving
Morocco's human rights record. His reformist rhetoric was opposed by
Islamist conservatives, and some of his reforms angered
fundamentalists.[17] His initiatives 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.[18] In February 2004, he enacted a new family code (
Mudawana), which granted women more power.[8]
Mohammed also created the
Equity and Reconciliation Commission, which was tasked with researching
human rights violations under Hassan II. This move was welcomed by many as promoting
democracy, but was also criticized because the commission's reports could not name the perpetrators. According to human rights organizations, human rights violations are still common in Morocco.[19][20][21]
In January 2017, Morocco banned the manufacturing, marketing, and sale of the
burqa.[22]
In May 2023, Mohammed authorized the creation of a national public holiday for
Yennayer (Amazigh New Year).[23]
The
2011 Moroccan protests, led by the 20 February Movement, were primarily motivated by corruption and general political discontentment, as well as by the hardships of the
global economic crisis. The demonstrations were influenced by then-recent revolutions in
Tunisia and
Egypt 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.[24]
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 impaneling a committee of legal scholars to produce a draft constitution by June 2011.[25] On 1 July, voters approved a set of political reforms proposed by the king in a
referendum.
The state preserves and protects the
Hassaniya Arabic dialect and all the linguistic components of
Moroccan culture as a heritage of the nation.[26]
The
prime 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.[27]
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 the
parliament.[10][28][29]
The king is no longer "sacred or holy" but the "integrity of his person" is "inviolable".[30]
High administrative and diplomatic posts (including ambassadors, CEOs of state-owned companies, 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.[31]
The parliament has the power to grant amnesty. Previously this was also exclusively held by the king.[32]
The king guarantees the independence of the judiciary system from of the legislative and executive branches.[27][33]
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.[29]
The king retains complete control over the armed forces and the judiciary as well as matters pertaining to religion and foreign policy, as well as the authority to appoint and dismiss prime ministers.[34]
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.[29][35]
Mohammed has said that the "Moroccanness of the Sahara" remained an "indisputable fact".[37] He visited Western Sahara in 2006 and 2015,[38] and has asserted that Morocco was not negotiating over the territory, as the issue "never was - and never will be - on the negotiating table".[37] In March 2006, the government created the
Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs (CORCAS), an advisory committee which defends Morocco's claim over Western Sahara, and whose members are appointed by the king. In 2021, the CORCAS condemned the
Sahrawi refugee camps in
Tindouf, citing human rights concerns.[39]
The
Polisario Front, the main opposite party to the conflict, insists on ultimately pursuing for the establishment of an independent
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. Morocco and the Polisario Front reached a ceasefire agreement in 1991, which included the establishment of a
United Nations peacekeeping mission (
MINURSO) to oversee and conduct a potential referendum on the future status of Western Sahara; to this day, such a referendum has never occurred.[40]
In 2020, an
escalation of the conflict began when Sahrawi protesters blocked a road connecting
Guerguerat to
sub-Saharan Africa via Mauritania. Morocco responded by intervening militarily to resume movement of people and goods through Guerguerat, which the Polisario Front said had violated the 1991 ceasefire agreement.[41][42]
In 2022, Mohammed VI confirmed that the Western Sahara issue was "the lens through which Morocco looks at the world", and through which it "measures the sincerity of friendships and the efficiency of partnerships", while also calling on other countries "to clarify their positions" on the conflict "and reconsider them in a manner that leaves no room for doubt".[43] This came as a number of countries backing Morocco's stance had established consulates in the Western Saharan cities of
Laayoune and
Dakhla beginning in late 2019, with a total of 28 as of 2023.[44] Both the United States and Israel had officially recognized Moroccan sovereignty over the territory in December 2020 and July 2023 respectively.[45]
Mohammed VI increasingly prioritized African relations in Morocco's foreign policy. Morocco had previously withdrawn from the
Organisation of African Unity, precursor to the current
African Union (AU), in 1984 after the Polisario's Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic was admitted to the organisation. In July 2016, Mohammed sent a message to the 27th African Union summit being held in
Kigali, in which he requested Moroccan readmission to the AU, and 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".[46] Morocco was admitted to the African Union in January 2017.
During his reign, Morocco developed partnerships with the
Gulf Cooperation Council as well as other non-traditional
great powers, mainly China and Russia, aiming to diversify trade links and foreign investments and to limit Morocco's traditional reliance on the
European Union and other Western countries.[47][48][49] Morocco has also offered to act as a mediator in the
Libyan crisis, and remained neutral in the
Qatar diplomatic crisis.[50][51]
Mohammed and his sister,
Princess Lalla Meryem, made a state visit to the
White House in Washington, D.C. in June 2000, as guests of United States President
Bill Clinton.[52] The
Bush administration designated Morocco as a
major 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 increasing
trade deficit.[51]
Despite Moroccan calls for reconciliation,
relations with neighbouring Algeria remained strained over the years.[53] In July 2004, Mohammed announced that Morocco would lift visa restrictions for Algerians, with Algerian President
Abdelaziz Bouteflika reciprocating the measure in 2005.[54] Tensions intensified in the 2020s, primarily as a result of the Israel–Morocco normalization agreement and Guerguerat border clashes. In August 2021, Algeria accused Morocco of supporting the
Movement for the self-determination of Kabylie, which it blamed for
wildfires in northern Algeria,[55] and later severed diplomatic relations with Morocco.[56]
2020s
Joint
U.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 February 2023, Mohammed and foreign minister
Nasser Bourita visited
Gabon, meeting with president
Ali Bongo in
Libreville and conducting a donation of 2,000 tonnes of fertilizer to the country.[63][64]
On 12 September 2023, following a
deadly earthquake in the
Marrakesh–Safi region, Mohammed visited hospitals to support the victims and donated blood for the needy.[72][73][74] On 14 September,
Al Mada, under the instructions of Mohammed, donated one billion dirhams for relief operations of quake-hit regions.[75][76]
On 4 December 2023, Mohammed and his entourage made an official visit to
Dubai, at the invitation of UAE President Sheikh
Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in which the two leaders signed a declaration committing to the development of "deep-rooted" bilateral relations.[77][78]
Mohammed is Morocco's leading businessman and banker.[79] In 2015, he was estimated by Forbes magazine to be worth US$5.7bn[4] although in 2019 Business Insider quoted a figure of just US$2.1 billion.[3] The Moroccan Royal Family, meanwhile, has one of the largest fortunes in the world.[80] Together, they hold the majority stakes in the
Al Mada holding, formerly named the Société Nationale d'Investissement (SNI), which was originally state-owned but was merged in 2013 with Omnium Nord Africain (
ONA Group), to form a single
holding company that was taken off the
Casablanca Stock Exchange—resulting in the scrapping of an equivalent of 50 billion Dirhams
Marketcap (~US$6 billion).[81] 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 of
Maserati), Wafa Assurance (
insurance),
Marjane (
hypermarket chain),
Wana-Inwi (
telecommunications),
SONASID (
Siderurgy),
Lafarge Maroc,
Sopriam (exclusive distributor of
Peugeot-
Citroën in Morocco),
Renault Maroc (exclusive distributor of Renault in Morocco) and
Nareva (energy).[82][83] It also owns many food-processing companies and is currently in the process of disengaging from this sector.[82] Between mid-2012 and 2013, the holding sold Lessieur, Centrale Laitière, Bimo and Cosumar 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).[82]
Mohammed is also a leading agricultural producer and land owner in Morocco, where agriculture is exempted from taxes.[82] His personal holding company
SIGER has shares in the large agricultural group "Les domaines agricoles" (originally called "Les domaines royaux", now commonly known as "Les domaines"), which was founded by Hassan II.[82] In 2008,
Telquel estimated that "Les domaines" had a revenue of $157 million (1.5 billion Dirhams), with 170,000 tons of
citrus exported in that year.[82] According to the same magazine, the company officially owns 12,000
hectares of agricultural lands.[82]"Chergui", a manufacturer of
dairy products, is the most recognizable brand of the group.[82] Between 1994 and 2004, the group has been managed by Mohammed VI's brother-in-law Khalid Benharbit, the husband of
Princess Lalla Hasna.[82]"Les domaines" also owns the "Royal Golf de Marrakech", which originally belonged to
Thami El Glaoui.[82]
His palace's daily operating budget is reported by
Forbes to be $960,000—which is paid by the Moroccan state as part of a 2.576 billion Dirhams/year budget as of 2014[87]—with much of it accounted for by the expense of personnel, clothes, and car repairs.[80]
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.[88] 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.[89]
Those pardoned included a drug trafficking suspect, who was released before standing trial.[90] The detainee, Antonio Garcia, a recidivist drug trafficker, had been arrested in possession of 9 tons of
hashish in
Tangier and was sentenced to 10 years.[91] He had resisted arrest using a firearm.[90] Some media claimed that his release embarrassed Spain.[91]
Allegations of corruption
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".[9] 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 to
WikiLeaks documents published in December 2010 and quoted in The Guardian newspaper.[92] 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 secretary
Mounir Majidi, and the monarch's close friend, adviser and former classmate
Fouad Ali El Himma. This corruption especially affects the housing sector, the WikiLeaks documents show.[93]
Mohammed has one brother,
Prince Moulay Rachid, and three sisters:
Princess Lalla Meryem,
Princess Lalla Asma, and
Princess Lalla Hasna. The New 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.[14]
In June 2022, Mohammed tested positive for
COVID-19.[108][109] 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.[110] On 10 July 2022, he made his first public appearance since recovering from COVID-19 when he performed
Eid al-Adha rituals and prayers.[110]
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).[130][131][132]
On 14 March 2023, Mohammed was awarded the President's Outstanding Achievement Award by
CAF.[133][134]
^Ahmed Reda Benchemsi; Fahd Iraqi (18 July 2009).
"Le Businessman"(PDF). TelQuel. Archived from
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^"Honorary Knights and Dames". www.leighrayment.com. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2019.{{
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^"His Majesty King Mohammed VI". Embassy of Morocco Australia-New zealand-Pacific States. 4 August 2012.
Archived from the original on 31 May 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2022.