Maroua Kharbouch (born 20 September 1990) is a

Gibraltarian Gibraltarians (Spanish: ''gibraltareños'', colloquially: '' llanitos'') are an ethnic group native to Gibraltar, a British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea ...

model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Gibraltar 2013 and was named as the people's choice at Miss World 2013 in

Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

where

Megan Young Megan Lynne Talde Young-Daez (; née Young; born February 27, 1990) is a Filipino actress and beauty queen, who won Miss World Philippines 2013 title and was later crowned Miss World 2013. She is the first delegate from the Philippines and So ...

the Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of 7,641 islands, with a total area of roughly 300,000 square kilometers, which ar ...

won the pageant, earning her a place in the Top 6 finalists. She was the first

of Moroccan descent to be crowned Miss Gibraltar and the second

finalist at a

Miss World Miss World is the oldest existing international beauty pageant. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951. Since his death in 2000, Morley's widow, Julia Morley, has co-chaired the pageant. Along with Miss Universe, Mi ...

beauty pageant.

Personal life

Maroua Kharbouch is a client relationship manager assistant. Her hobbies and interests include modelling, fitness and

volunteering Volunteering is an elective and freely chosen act of an individual or group giving their time and labor, often for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergenc ...

. She is of Moroccan descent with both her parents being from

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

and is

trilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monoling ...

, speaking English, Spanish and Arabic.

Miss Gibraltar 2013

Seven contestants signed up to compete at the 2013 Miss Gibraltar beauty pageant. Maroua Kharbouch was

BetVictor BetVictor, founded in 1946, is an online gambling company based in Gibraltar, owned by British businessman and racehorse owner Michael Tabor. It provides services such as sports betting and online casinos. History The company was founded ...

's favourite to win Miss Gibraltar with the bookie offering odds of 8/13. As all seven contestants chose their order of appearance for the upcoming pageant at random, in the presence of

Mayor of Gibraltar The Mayor of Gibraltar is the ceremonial official of the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The mayor is appointed by the elected Members of Parliament Anthony Lima Anthony "Tony" Lima, (born 17 January 1946) is a Gibraltarians, Gibraltarian politician, and former Mayor of Gibraltar. He was appointed to the office of deputy mayor on 1 August 2011 and to that of mayor on 1 August 2012. He was a former Gibr ...

at the

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

, Kharbouch selected number one. At 22 years of age, Maroua Kharbouch was crowned Miss Gibraltar 2013 at the 51st edition of the pageant, held at the John Mackintosh Hall on 8 June 2013. She received part of her prize in the form of a cheque and clothing allowance from the Minister for Culture Steven Linares, at a ceremony held at the City Hall on 25 June 2013.

Miss World 2013

Having been crowned Miss Gibraltar 2013, Maroua Kharbouch would automatically represent

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

at the 2013 Miss World pageant in

, Indonesia. By 12 September 2013, Kharbouch was ranked third in

's People's Choice Award, which would gain the award holder automatic entry into the

final. Votes were cast by the general public via the official

mobile app A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a smartphone, phone, tablet computer, tablet, or smartwatch, watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop appli ...

which was available for

Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

and Android with proceeds going to charity. Kharbouch was leading the voting by 18 September 2013, a position which she maintained by 26 September 2013. She eventually won the award at the

final two days later which saw her fast-tracked to the Top 6 finalists but fell short of the Top 3 positions. She became only the second Miss Gibraltar to make the semi-final cut at

ever, and the second to make the Top 6. Kharbouch held hands with her Spanish counterpart Elena Ibarbia, who also made it to the Top 6, as they anticipated the final results. This was seen as an important gesture which contrasted with the political tensions between both countries.

Chief Minister of Gibraltar The chief minister of Gibraltar is the head of Government of Gibraltar, His Majesty's Government of Gibraltar who is Elections in Gibraltar, elected by the Gibraltar Parliament, and formally appointed by the governor of Gibraltar, representat ...

Fabian Picardo Fabian Raymond Picardo (born 18 February 1972) is a Gibraltarian politician and barrister, serving as Chief Minister of Gibraltar and Leader of the Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party since 2011. At the 2015 and 2019 Gibraltar general elections, ...

described the image as "moving", stating that they were an example of

"the reality of the symbiotic relationship between the people of
Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...
and the Spanish people of La Linea and the towns around us. Friendship. Respect. Understanding."

Maroua Kharbouch returned to

on 30 September 2013 when she was greeted by Minister Steven Linares and Mayor

Anthony Lima Anthony "Tony" Lima, (born 17 January 1946) is a Gibraltarians, Gibraltarian politician, and former Mayor of Gibraltar. He was appointed to the office of deputy mayor on 1 August 2011 and to that of mayor on 1 August 2012. He was a former Gibr ...

Gibraltar International Airport Gibraltar International Airport, previously known as North Front Airport, is the civilian airport that serves the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The runway and aerodrome is owned by the Ministry of Defence (MoD), and operated by the Ro ...

References

External links

Official Miss Gibraltar pageant website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kharbouch, Maroua Living people Miss World 2013 delegates Miss Gibraltar winners 1990 births Gibraltarian people of Moroccan descent