Enaam Mayara (; born 1968) is a Moroccan Sahrawi politician and trade unionist who served as president of the

House of Councillors The is the upper house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Representatives (Japan), House of Representatives is the lower house. The House of Councillors is the successor to the pre-war House of Peers (Japan), House of Peers. If the t ...

, the upper house of the

Parliament of Morocco The Parliament of Morocco () is the bicameral legislature of Morocco. It is located in Rabat. History The traditional representative system in Morocco was organized through traditional structures such as the ulema assembly by cities and region ...

. He is the president of the General Union of Moroccan Workers (UGTM), a trade union affiliated with the

Istiqlal Party The Istiqlal Party (; ; ) is a political party in Morocco. It is a conservative and monarchist party and a member of the Centrist Democrat International and International Democracy Union. Istiqlal headed a coalition government under Abbas El Fa ...

. Mayara also serves at the president of the

Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean The Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) is an international organization established in 2005 by the national parliaments of the countries of the Euro-Mediterranean region. It is the legal successor of the Conference on Security and ...

Early life and education

Mayara was born on 15 June 1968 in

Smara Smāra (also romanized Semara, , ; ) is a city in the Moroccan-controlled part of Western Sahara, with a population of 57,035 recorded in the 2014 Moroccan census. It is served by Smara Airport and Smara bus station. History The largest city in ...

, he is a Sahrawi from the

Reguibat The Reguibat (; variously transliterated ''Reguibate'', ''Rguibat'', ''R'gaybat'', ''R'gibat'', ''Erguibat'', ''Ergaybat'') is a Sahrawi tribal confederation of mixed Arab and Sanhaja Berber origins. The Reguibat speak Hassaniya Arabic, and are ...

tribe. He studied in

Tan-Tan A tan-tan is a cylindrical hand drum from Brazil that is used in small samba and pagode ensembles. It imitates the big Surdo which is played by the famous samba ''baterias'' (percussion ensembles). But due to its smaller size the tan-tan is not a ...

and graduated from the (IAV Hassan-II) in

Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ) is the Capital (political), capital city of Morocco and the List of cities in Morocco, country's seventh-largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million. ...

with an engineering degree and worked as a landscape gardener.

Political and unionist career

Mayara began working as a civil servant in 1991, he was the head of green zones and parks in the urban commune of

Laayoune Laayoune or El Aaiún (, Latn, ar, al-ʕuyūn , , ) is the largest city of the disputed territory of Western Sahara, with a population of 271,344 in 2023. The city is the ''de jure'' capital of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, though it ...

until 2009. In 1996, he was elected general secretary of a local labor union, the National Federation of Workers in the Territorial Communities of the province of Laayoune, an organization affiliated with the UGTM. On behalf of the labor union, he was elected member of the

Laâyoune-Boujdour-Sakia El Hamra Laâyoune-Boujdour-Sakia El Hamra () was one of the sixteen regions of Morocco from 1997 to 2015. It was mainly located in the disputed territory of Western Sahara, covered an area of and had a population of 301,744 as of the 2004 census. Its cap ...

regional council from 1997 to 2015. Mayara also served as regional coordinator of the Istiqlal Youth for the

southern provinces The Southern Provinces or Moroccan Sahara are the terms used by the Moroccan government to refer to the occupied territory of Western Sahara. These designations encompass the entirety of Western Sahara, which spans three of Morocco's 12 top- ...

and as a member of the Istiqlal Youth Central Committee. He was also a member of the Istiqlal Party's National Council for three consecutive terms, and has been a member of its Executive Committee since 2014. Mayara held several positions in the UGTM, rising through the ranks from the president of its regional office in Laayoune to being a member of its political bureau before joining its standing committee in 2014. On May 7, 2017, he was elected president of the UGTM, succeeding Hamid Chabat. Mayara spent three consecutive terms as a deputy in the House of Councillors representing the UGTM from 2009 to 2021. He was named president of the House of Councillors on October 9, 2021. In May 2023, during an Istiqlal Party rally, he qualified the Spanish enclaves of

Ceuta Ceuta (, , ; ) is an Autonomous communities of Spain#Autonomous cities, autonomous city of Spain on the North African coast. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ceuta is one of th ...

and

Melilla Melilla (, ; ) is an autonomous city of Spain on the North African coast. It lies on the eastern side of the Cape Three Forks, bordering Morocco and facing the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of . It was part of the Province of Málaga un ...

as "colonized territories" and suggested they be "recovered" to Morocco "through negotiation, without resorting to arms" and that the cities "wouldn't succumb to blackmail". This sparked outrage and condemnation among Spanish political parties, notably from the right-wing People's Party and Vox.

Personal life

Mayara is married with two children. He is the son-in-law of Moulay Hamdi Ould Errachid.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayara, Enaam 21st-century Moroccan politicians Istiqlal Party politicians Trade union leaders Members of the House of Councillors (Morocco) Presidents of the House of Councillors (Morocco) People from Smara Sahrawi politicians 1968 births Living people