Abbas El Fassi (; ar, عباس الفاسي; born 18 September 1940) was Moroccan politician and businessman,

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 19 September 2007 to 29 November 2011. El Fassi, a member of the

Istiqlal Party The Istiqlal Party ( ar, حزب الإستقلال, translit=Ḥizb Al-Istiqlāl, lit=Independence Party; french: Parti Istiqlal; zgh, ⴰⴽⴰⴱⴰⵔ ⵏ ⵍⵉⵙⵜⵉⵇⵍⴰⵍ) is a political party in Morocco. It is a conservative and ...

, replaced independent

Driss Jettou Driss Jettou ( ar, إدريس جطو; born 24 May 1945) is a Moroccan politician, who served as the Prime Minister of Morocco from 2002 to 2007. Early life and education Jettou was born in the town of El Jadida on 24 May 1945. After secondary s ...

Early life and career

El Fassi was born in

Berkane Berkane ( ber, translit=Berkane, ⴱⴻⵔⴽⴰⵏ) is a city in northeastern Morocco, in the tribal area of Aït Iznasen, limited by the Mediterranean to the north, the Kis river (Moroccan-Algerian border) and Oujda Province in the east, Nador P ...

, Morocco, on 18 September 1940. He served as the Minister of Housing from 1977 to 1981, Minister of Handicraft and Social Affairs from 1981 to 1985, ambassador to

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

and the

Arab League The Arab League ( ar, الجامعة العربية, ' ), formally the League of Arab States ( ar, جامعة الدول العربية, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world, which is located in Northern Africa, Western Africa, E ...

from 1985 to 1990, ambassador to France from 1990 to 1994, and as Minister of Employment, Professional Training, Social Development and Solidarity from 2000 to 2002. He then took up the post of

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. I ...

in the Jettou government from 2002 to 2007.

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...

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 (born 1963), King of Morocco since 19 ...

appointed El Fassi as prime minister on 19 September 2007 following Istiqlal's victory in the

parliamentary elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

on 7 September. His government was appointed by Mohammed VI on 15 October 2007 with 33 members (not including El Fassi), including seven women. Five political parties were included in this government: Istiqlal, liberal Mouvement Populaire (MP), the

Socialist Union of Popular Forces The Socialist Union of Popular Forces ( ar, الاتحاد الاشتراكي للقوات الشعبية, translit=Al-Ittihad Al-Ishtirakiy Lilqawat Al-Sha'abiyah; zgh, ⵜⴰⵎⵓⵏⵜ ⵜⴰⵏⵎⵍⴰⵢⵜ ⵏⵉⵖⴰⵍⵍⵏ ⵉⴳ� ...

(USFP), the

National Rally of Independents National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ...

(RNI), and the

Party of Progress and Socialism The Party of Progress and Socialism ( ar, حزب التقدم والاشتراكية, translit=Hizb Al-Taqadoum Wal-Ishtirakiyeh; zgh, ⴰⴽⴰⴱⴰⵔ ⵏ ⵓⴼⴰⵔⴰ ⴷ ⵜⵏⵎⵍⴰ; french: Parti du Progrès et du Socialisme, PPS) ...

(PPS).

Controversies

Abbas el Fassi was Moroccan ambassador to France when

Gilles Perrault Gilles Perrault (born Jacques Peyroles; 9 March 1931) is a French writer and journalist. Biography Born in Paris, Perrault attended the Collège Stanislas de Paris and then studied at the Institut d'études politiques, eventually becoming a l ...

's political pamphlet "Notre ami, le roi", about human rights abuses in Morocco, was published in France. Ties between Morocco and France deteriorated with the publication of the book.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fassi, Abbas El 1940 births Living people Government ministers of Morocco Istiqlal Party politicians People from Berkane Prime Ministers of Morocco 20th-century Moroccan lawyers Ambassadors of Morocco to France Ambassadors of Morocco to Tunisia Ambassadors of Morocco to the Arab League