Abdelilah benkirane wikipédia

Prime minister of Morocco (–)

Abdelilah Benkirane (Arabic: عبد الإله بنكيران, born ) is a Moroccan politician who was the 15th Prime Minister of Morocco from November to March ^[1][2] After having won a plurality of seats in the parliamentary election, his party, the moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party formed a coalition with three parties that had been part of previous governments.^[3][4][5]

Political career

During the s, Benkirane was a leftist and Islamist political activist.^[6] He has represented Salé in the Moroccan parliament since 14 November ^[7] He was elected leader of the Justice and Development Party in July , taking over from Saadeddine Othmani.^[8]

Benkirane's politics are democratic and Islamist. In a 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 in Morocco".^[9] However, he has in the past described secularism as "a dangerous concept for Morocco", and in he campaigned, unsuccessfully, to ban a performance in Rabat by Elton John because it "promoted homosexuality".^[10]

Prime Minister of Morocco

Benkirane became Prime Minister on 29 November His government targeted average economic growth of percent a year during its four-year mandate, and aimed to reduce the jobless rate to 8 percent by the end of from percent at the start of ^[11] Benkirane's government also actively pursued Morocco's ties with the European Union, its chief trade partner, as well as becoming increasingly engaged with the six-member Gulf Co-operation Council.

On 10 October , Bankirane was reappointed after the Islamist party won parliamentary elections.^[12][13][14]

On 1 December , Benkirane criticized the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad 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".^[15]

The Justice and Development Party retained the majority of seats in the Moroccan general election. However, Benkirane was unable to form a functioning government due to ongoing political negotiations. On 15 March , after five months of post-election deadlock, King Mohammed VI ousted Benkirane as Prime Minister and said he would choose another leader from the Justice and Development Party.^{[16][17][18][19][20]} On 17 March the king chose Saadeddine Othmani to replace Benkirane as Prime Minister.^[21][22]

Post-tenure

On 12 April ,^[23] 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 , Benkirane was elected as PJD secretary-general, following the resignation of Saadeddine Othmani in the aftermath of his party's loss in the Moroccan general election.^[24]

Personal life

Born in Rabat, Benkirane's family are originally from Fes. His father was interested in Sufism and Islamic fundamentalism, while his mother attended meetings of the women's branch of Istiqlal.^[25]

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 He is married to a party activist and has six children. His youngest daughter is tetraplegic.^[26]

See also

References

External links