Abdelilah Benkirane ( ar, عبد الإله بنكيران, born 2 April 1954) is a Moroccan politician who was

Prime Minister of Morocco The prime minister of Morocco (officially Head of Government, ar, رئيس حكومة المملكة المغربية, rayiys hukumat almamlakat almaghribia) is the head of government of the Kingdom of Morocco. The prime minister is chosen by t ...

from November 2011 to March 2017. After having won a plurality of seats in the 2011 parliamentary election, his party, the moderate Islamist

Justice and Development Party Justice and Development Party may refer to several political parties, the best-known ones being: * Justice and Development Party (Morocco) * Justice and Development Party (Turkey) Justice and Development Party may also refer to: * Justice and Dev ...

formed a coalition with three parties that had been part of previous governments.

Political career

During the 1970s, Benkirane was a leftist and Islamist political activist. He has represented

Salé Salé ( ar, سلا, salā, ; ber, ⵙⵍⴰ, sla) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the right bank of the Bou Regreg river, opposite the national capital Rabat, for which it serves as a commuter town. Founded in about 1030 by the Banu Ifran ...

in the Moroccan parliament since 14 November 1997. He was elected leader of the Justice and Development Party in July 2008, taking over from

Saadeddine Othmani Saadeddine Othmani ( ber, ⵙⴰⵄⴷ ⴷⴷⵉⵏ ⵍⵄⵓⵜⵎⴰⵏⵉ; ar, سعد الدين العثماني; born 16 January 1956), sometimes translated as Saad Eddine el-Othmani, is a Moroccan politician. He served as the 16th prime mi ...

. Benkirane's politics are democratic and Islamist. In a 2011 interview he said: "If I get into government, it won't be so I can tell young women how many centimeters of skirt they should wear to cover their legs. That's none of my business. It is not possible, in any case, for anyone to threaten the cause of

civil liberties Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties may ...

in Morocco". However, he has in the past described secularism as "a dangerous concept for Morocco", and in 2010 he campaigned, unsuccessfully, to ban a performance in

Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ar, الرِّبَاط, er-Ribât; ber, ⵕⵕⴱⴰⵟ, ṛṛbaṭ) is the capital city of Morocco and the country's seventh largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan populati ...

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

because it "promoted homosexuality".

Prime Minister of Morocco

Benkirane became Prime Minister on 29 November 2011. His government targeted average economic growth of 5.5 percent a year during its four-year mandate, and aimed to reduce the jobless rate to 8 percent by the end of 2016 from 9.1 percent at the start of 2012. Benkirane's government also actively pursued Morocco's ties with the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

, its chief trade partner, as well as becoming increasingly engaged with the six-member

Gulf Co-operation Council The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf ( ar, مجلس التعاون لدول العربية الخليج ), also known as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC; ar, مجلس التعاون الخليجي), is a regional, interg ...

. On 1 December 2016, Benkirane criticized the Syrian government of

Bashar al-Assad Bashar Hafez al-Assad, ', Levantine pronunciation: ; (, born 11 September 1965) is a Syrian politician who is the 19th president of Syria, since 17 July 2000. In addition, he is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the ...

for its actions during the Syrian Civil War: "What the Syrian regime backed by Russia is doing to the Syrian people surpasses all humanitarian limits". The Justice and Development Party retained the majority of seats in the 2016 Moroccan general election. However, Benkirane was unable to form a functioning government due to ongoing political negotiations. On 15 March 2017, after five months of post-election deadlock,

King Mohammed VI Mohammed VI ( ar, محمد السادس; born 21 August 1963) is the King of Morocco. He belongs to the 'Alawi dynasty and acceded to the throne on 23 July 1999, upon the death of his father, King Hassan II. Upon ascending to the throne, Moha ...

ousted Benkirane as Prime Minister and said he would choose another leader from the Justice and Development Party. On 17 March 2017 the king chose

to replace Benkirane as Prime Minister.

Post-tenure

On 12 April 2017, Abdelilah Benkirane resigned from the Moroccan Parliament claiming incompatibility. However, many in the media accused him of buying time in order to avoid showing his positions towards the newly appointed head of government, Saadeddine Othmani. On 30 October 2021, Benkirane was elected as PJD secretary-general, following the resignation of Saadeddine Othmani in the aftermath of his party's loss in the 2021 Moroccan general election.

Personal life

Born in

, Benkirane's family are originally from

Fes Fez or Fes (; ar, فاس, fās; zgh, ⴼⵉⵣⴰⵣ, fizaz; french: Fès) is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fès-Meknès administrative region. It is the second largest city in Morocco, with a population of 1.11 mi ...

. His father was interested in Sufism and Islamic

fundamentalism Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that is characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguishing ...

, while his mother attended meetings of the women's branch of

Istiqlal Istiqlal ( ar, اِسْتِقْلال, istiqlāl) means ''independence'' and may refer to: Political parties *Azərbaycan Milli İstiqlal Partiyası or Azerbaijan National Independence Party, political party in Azerbaijan *Harakat Al-Istiqlal or In ...

. Benkirane enjoys chess and music, although he says he is "not in favour of indecent music". His role model is his father, who died at the age of 90, when Benkirane was 16. He is married to a party activist and has six children. His youngest daughter is

tetraplegic Tetraplegia, also known as quadriplegia, is defined as the dysfunction or loss of motor and/or sensory function in the cervical area of the spinal cord. A loss of motor function can present as either weakness or paralysis leading to partial or ...

References

External links