King appoints Morocco’s first female prime minister

Morocco's King Mohammed VI has appointed Fatima Zahra Mansouri as the country's first woman prime minister. Mansouri, who was also the mayor of Marrakech, was tasked with forming a new government after her party, the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), won the most seats in the parliamentary election, according to the South China Morning Post and Le Monde English.

Mansouri, a 50-year-old lawyer, has previously served as housing minister in the outgoing government, as reported by the South China Morning Post. She was appointed by King Mohammed VI, who retains significant powers in the country, and will lead talks to form a coalition government, as stated by the South China Morning Post.

Mansouri's appointment makes her only the second woman to lead a government in the Arab world, after Tunisia's Najla Bouden, as reported by KahawaTungu. She studied at Mohammed V University in Rabat and has been a prominent female politician in Morocco, KahawaTungu also reported.

Brief written by urgent.news from PBS NewsHour, South China Morning Post, Le Monde English, KahawaTungu, Sky News — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.