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 Moroccoportal |
The President of the House of Representatives of Morocco is the presiding officer of that body. From the creation of the House of Councillors in 1997, the House of Representatives is the lower house of the Parliament of Morocco.
| Name | Portrait | Took office | Left office | Political party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Mehdi Benbarka | 1956 | 1959 | Istiqlal Party |
| 2 |  | Abdelkrim al-Khatib | 1963 | 1965 | Popular Movement |
| 3 | | Abdelhadi Boutaleb | 1970 | 1971 | Independent |
| 4 | | Mehdi Benbouchta | 1971 | 1972 | Istiqlal Party |
| 5 |  | Edday Oueld Sidi Baba | 1977 | 1983 | National Rally of Independents |
| 6 |  | Ahmed Osman | 1984 | 1992 | National Rally of Independents |
| 7 | | Jalal Essaid | 1992 | 1997 | Constitutional Union |
| 8 |  | Abdelwahed Radi | 3 March 1997[ citation needed ] | 9 April 2007 | Socialist Union of Popular Forces |
| 9 | | Mustapha Mansouri | 9 April 2007 | 9 April 2010 | National Rally of Independents |
| (8) | | Abdelwahed Radi | 9 April 2010 | 19 December 2011 | Socialist Union of Popular Forces |
| 10 |  | Karim Ghellab | 19 December 2011 | 2014 | Istiqlal Party |
| 11 |  | Rachid Talbi Alami | 2014 | 2017 | National Rally of Independents |
| 12 |  | Habib El Malki | 16 January 2017 | 2021 | Socialist Union of Popular Forces |
| 13 | | Rachid Talbi Alami [1] | 9 October 2021 | Incumbent | National Rally of Independents |
Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to the east, and the disputed territory of Western Sahara to the south. Mauritania lies to the south of Western Sahara. Morocco also claims the Spanish exclaves of Ceuta, Melilla and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, and several small Spanish-controlled islands off its coast. It spans an area of 446,300 km2 (172,300 sq mi) or 710,850 km2 (274,460 sq mi), with a population of roughly 37 million. Its official and predominant religion is Islam, and the official languages are Arabic and Berber; the Moroccan dialect of Arabic and French are also widely spoken. Moroccan identity and culture is a mix of Arab, Berber, and European cultures. Its capital is Rabat, while its largest city is Casablanca.
Politics of Morocco take place in a framework of an official parliamentary constitutional monarchy, whereby the prime minister of Morocco is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament, the Assembly of Representatives of Morocco and the Assembly of Councillors. The Moroccan Constitution provides for a monarchy with a Parliament and an independent judiciary.
Western Sahara, formerly the Spanish colony of Spanish Sahara, is a disputed territory claimed by both the Kingdom of Morocco and the Popular Front for the Liberation of the Saguia el Hamra and Rio de Oro, which is an independence movement based in Algeria. The Annexation of Western Sahara by Morocco took place in two stages, in 1976 and 1979, and is considered illegal under international law.
The First Moroccan Crisis or the Tangier Crisis was an international crisis between March 1905 and May 1906 over the status of Morocco. Germany wanted to challenge France's growing control over Morocco, aggravating France and Great Britain. The crisis was resolved by the Algeciras Conference of 1906, a conference of mostly European countries that affirmed French control; this worsened German relations with both France and Britain, and helped enhance the new Anglo-French Entente.
The Parliament of Morocco is the bicameral legislature located in Rabat, the capital of Morocco.
The House of Councillors is the upper house of the Parliament of Morocco and has 120 members, elected for a six-year term. 72 members are elected at the Kingdom's regional level, who represent the subnational administrative areas ; 20 members are elected in each region by a single electoral college made up of all those in the relevant region that have been elected to the following professional associations: the agriculture associations, the commerce, industry and services associations, the arts and crafts associations and the marine fisheries associations; 8 members are elected in each region by an electoral college made up of those elected from the most representative employers' professional organizations; 20 members elected nationally by an electoral college made up of employees.
The House of Representatives is one of the two chambers—the other of which is the House of Councillors—of the Moroccan Parliament. The House of Representatives has 395 members elected for five-year terms, 305 of whom are elected in multi-seat constituencies, and 90 of whom are elected in two national lists dedicated to promote gender equality and national youth.
The US-Morocco Free Trade Agreement is a bilateral trade agreement between the United States and Morocco. The agreement was signed on June 15, 2004, followed by U.S. President George W. Bush's signing of the USMFTA Implementation Act on August 17, 2004. The United States House of Representatives ratified the pact on July 22, 2004 by a 323–99 vote. The United States Senate passed the bill by unanimous consent on July 21, 2004. The Morocco FTA came into effect on January 1, 2006.
Relations between the Kingdom of Morocco and the United States of America date back to the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) and specifically since 1777 when the sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah became the first monarch to help the United States. Morocco remains one of America's oldest and closest allies in North Africa, a status affirmed by Morocco's zero-tolerance policy towards Al-Qaeda and their affiliated groups. Morocco also assisted the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency with questioning al-Qaeda members captured in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere during the administration of 43rd President George W. Bush, who designated the country as a Major non-NATO ally.
Khadija Arib is a Moroccan-Dutch politician of the Labour Party, who served as Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands from 12 December 2015 to 7 April 2021. In the 2016 Speaker of the Dutch House of Representatives election on 13 January, she was elected to the position, which she had served as Acting Speaker since the resignation of Anouchka van Miltenburg on 12 December 2015. Arib became a member of the House of Representatives following the 1998 Dutch general election and served until 2022, with a brief interruption between 2006 and 2007.
Ahmed Marcouch is a Moroccan-Dutch politician, former police officer, civil servant and educator serving as Mayor of Arnhem since 2017. A member of the Labour Party (PvdA), he was a member of the House of Representatives from 17 June 2010 to 23 March 2017. He focused on matters of community development.
Rudolf Aleida "Roland" van Vliet is a Dutch independent politician who served as a member of the House of Representatives between 17 June 2010 and 23 March 2017. A member of the Party for Freedom (PVV) until he left it on 20 March 2014, he became a member of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) on 1 June 2015 but remained an independent member of the House because of procedures that prohibits party switching during an incumbent legislative session. Unofficially he caucused with the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy on voting.
Nouzha Skalli is a Moroccan politician from the Party of Progress and Socialism who served as Minister of Solidarity, Women, Family, and Social Development from October 2007 until January 2012 in the government of Abbas El Fassi.
Rachid Talbi Alami is a Moroccan politician of the National Rally of Independents party who is the President (Speaker) of the House of Representatives of Morocco since October 9th, 2021. He was elected representative of Tetouan in the 2021 Moroccan general election.
Vera Alida Bergkamp is a Dutch politician. A member of the Democrats 66 (D66) party, she has been a member of the House of Representatives since 20 September 2012. On 7 April 2021, she was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives.
General elections were held in Morocco on 7 October 2016. The ruling Justice and Development Party remained the largest party, winning 125 of the 395 seats in the House of Representatives, a gain of 18 seats compared to the 2011 elections.
Mustafa Amhaouch is a Dutch politician, he has been a member of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands for the Christian Democratic Appeal since 12 January 2016, when he replaced Peter Oskam. Previously he served as municipal councillor in Helden between 1997 and 2006.
Salima Belhaj is a Dutch-Moroccan politician. She has been a member of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands for the Democrats 66 (D66) since 26 January 2016. She previously served as a municipal councillor and group president in Rotterdam between 2008 and 2016.
Diplomatic relations between Australia and Morocco were established in 1976. Morocco has had an embassy in Canberra since 2004 and the Australian Embassy in Rabat was established in May 2017, upgrading the existing Austrade office in Rabat. Previously the Australian Embassy in Paris was accredited to Morocco since 1978.
General elections were held in Morocco on 8 September 2021 to elect 395 members of the House of Representatives. The National Rally of Independents led by Aziz Akhannouch won the most seats (102), a gain of 65 seats from the prior election. The liberal Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) took second place with 87 seats, a net loss of 15 seats. The centre-right Istiqlal Party gained 35 seats and took third place with 81 seats total. The governing Justice and Development Party suffered an electoral wipeout and won only 13 seats, a net loss of 112 seats for the party.