Belkhir El Farouk ( ar, بلخير الفاروق, ; born 1948) is the Inspector General of the

Royal Moroccan Armed Forces The Royal Moroccan Armed Forces (, ) are the military forces of the Kingdom of Morocco. They consist of the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Royal Gendarmerie, and the Royal Guard. The Royal Moroccan Armed Forces are large, expensive and well ...

and the Commander of the Southern Military Zone. He was appointed as Inspector General by King

Mohammed VI Muhammad VI may refer to: * Muhammad Imaaduddeen VI (1868–1932), sultan of the Maldives from 1893 to 1902 * Mehmed VI (1861–1926), sultan of Ottoman Empire, from 1918 to 1922 * Mohammed VI of Morocco Mohammed VI ( ar, محمد الساد ...

in 2021, replacing

Abdelfattah Louarak Abdelfattah Louarak ( ar, عبد الفتاح الوراق; born 1955) is a Moroccan army General who served as Inspector General of the Armed Forces from 18 January 2017 to 15 September 2021. Louarak was promoted by the king to the rank of 4 star ...

Early life

Belkhir El Farouk was born in the village of Id Bouchini, near

Mirleft Mirleft (Berber languages, Amazigh: ⵎⵉⵔⵍⴼⵜ) is a small town and List of municipalities, communes, and arrondissements of Morocco, rural commune in Sidi Ifni Province of the Guelmim-Oued Noun region of Morocco. At the time of the 2004 M ...

, in 1948. He was born into the Shilha tribal confederation. He graduated from the

Meknes Royal Military Academy The Meknes Royal Military Academy (military school of Dar El-Beida before 1961) is the Moroccan Army officer initial training centre. Created by Sultan Muley Yusef in 1918 at Meknes, it is a unique military institution in North Africa, it was ori ...

in 1972 with the rank of second lieutenant. El Farouk obtained a Diploma of Higher Military Defense Studies in France.

Military career

El Farouk had held several positions of military responsibility, notably in the 13th Infantry Battalion, the and , the Headquarters Battalion, the 1st Skiers Battalion, the 10th Motorized Infantry Brigade, 7th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, 3rd Headquarters Company, and Headquarters and Theater Support Battalions. In 2006, he was appointed head of the 3rd office of the Royal Armed Forces' general staff. He was appointed Commander in Chief of the Southern Military Zone by King Mohammed VI in 2017. El Farouk led the military intervention to take control of a border crossing in Guerguerat, leading to the 2020–2022 Western Saharan clashes. El Farouk was named Inspector General of the Royal Armed Forces by King Mohammed VI on 15 September 2021, replacing Abdelfattah Louarak.

Personal life

El Farouk is married and has three children.

Decorations

Commander of the

Order of the Throne The Order of the Throne (Arabic: ''Wissam al-Arch'', French: ''Ordre du Trône'') is a state decoration of the Kingdom of Morocco awarded for distinguished services of a civil or military nature. The Order was instituted on 16 May 1963 by King H ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:El Farouk, Belkhir 1948 births Living people Moroccan generals People from Guelmim-Oued Noun 20th-century Moroccan people 21st-century Moroccan people