Abbas El Fassi (; ; born 18 September 1940) is a Moroccan politician and businessman who served as the 14th

Prime Minister of Morocco The prime minister of Morocco, officially head of government (), is the head of government of the Morocco, Kingdom of Morocco. The prime minister is chosen by the king of Morocco from the largest party elected to Parliament of Morocco, parliamen ...

from 19 September 2007 to 29 November 2011. El Fassi, a member of the Istiqlal Party, replaced independent Driss Jettou.

Early life and career

El Fassi was born in Berkane, 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 Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

and the

Arab League The Arab League (, ' ), officially the League of Arab States (, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world. The Arab League was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945, initially with seven members: Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt, Kingdom of Iraq, ...

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 designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

in the Jettou government from 2002 to 2007.

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

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

parliamentary elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General 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 (; ; , USFP) is a social democratic political party in Morocco. It claims ideas of social justice, modernity and the fight against inequalities. History and profile The USFP was formed as a breakaway from ...

(USFP), the National Rally of Independents (RNI), and the

Party of Progress and Socialism The Party of Progress and Socialism (; ; , PPS) is a left-wing socialist political party in Morocco. History and profile The party was founded in 1974 by Ali Yata as the successor of Moroccan Communist Party and Party of Liberation and Socia ...

(PPS).

Controversies

Abbas el Fassi was Moroccan ambassador to France when Gilles Perrault'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 Istiqlal Party politicians People from Berkane Prime ministers of Morocco Housing ministers of Morocco Solidarity ministers of Morocco State ministers of Morocco 20th-century Moroccan lawyers Ambassadors of Morocco to France Ambassadors of Morocco to Tunisia Ambassadors of Morocco to the Arab League