King of Morocco

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King of Morocco
ملك المغرب (Arabic)
ⴰⴳⵍⵍⵉⴷ ⵏ ⵍⵎⵖⵔⵉⴱ (Standard Moroccan Tamazight)
Coat of arms of Morocco.svg
Coat of arms of Morocco
Incumbent
King Mohammed VI (cropped).jpg
Mohammed VI
since 23 July 1999
Details
Style His Majesty
Heir apparent Crown Prince Moulay Hassan
First monarch Al-Rashid ibn Sharif
Formation1631;394 years ago (1631)
(Alawi dynasty)
Residence Dar al-Makhzen, Rabat

The king of Morocco [a] is the monarch and head of state of Morocco. The monarchs of Morocco belong to the Alawi dynasty and have used the designation of king since 1957. [2] It is the country's most powerful office. The current king of Morocco is Mohammed VI (Sidi Mohammed bin Hassan al-Alawi), who ascended the throne on 23 July 1999 following the death of his father, Hassan II. [3]

Contents

Rules and traditions of succession

According to Article 43 of the Constitution, the crown of Morocco passes according to agnatic primogeniture among the descendants of King Mohammed VI – unless the reigning monarch designates a younger son as heir apparent – failing which it devolves to "the closest male in the collateral consanguinity". [4]

Powers and duties

The 2011 Constitution of Morocco was adopted after the 2011 Moroccan constitutional referendum, following a series of protests where demonstrators demanded more political freedom, as a part of the wider Arab Spring movement. The king, in response, appointed a constitutional commission to draft a new constitution, which scaled back some of the king's powers and introduced democratic reforms. It defines the country as a constitutional monarchy, meaning the monarch exercises his authority in accordance with the constitution and is not the sole decision maker. However, the constitution still grants substantial discretionary powers to the monarch, such as having the final say on major policies and projects.

Similar to other constitutional monarchies, the king is the head of state and is its "supreme representative" and "symbol of the nation's unity", and represents the nation of Morocco in foreign diplomacy. [4] However, the king also has complete control over the armed forces and the judiciary, as well as matters pertaining to religion and foreign policy; the king also has the authority to appoint and dismiss prime ministers from the largest party elected to parliament. [5] [6]

Since 1962, the king is also defined in the constitution as Amir al-Mu'minin ('Commander of the Faithful'), a title which grants him some religious authority. [7] It further conveys a religious basis for the monarchy's legitimacy, predicated in part on the sharifian status of the dynasty and confirming an idea that had already been widely accepted in Morocco prior to this time. [8]

The constitution states that "the person of the King is inviolable, and respect is due to Him". [9] It is a criminal offense in Morocco to undermine the monarchy, including publicly criticizing the king's policy decisions. [10]

List of kings of Morocco

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Arabic: ملك المغرب, romanized: Malik al-Maġrib
    Standard Moroccan Tamazight: ⴰⴳⵍⵍⵉⴷ ⵏ ⵍⵎⵖⵔⵉⴱ, romanized: Agllid n Lmɣrib [1]

References

  1. ↑ "ⵜⴰⴱⵔⴰⵜ ⵏ ⵓⵙⵔⵖⵓⴷ ⵏ ⵍⴰⵎⵉⵔ ⵏ ⵉⵎⵓⵎⵏⵏ ⴱⴰⴱ ⵏ ⵡⴰⴷⴷⵓⵔ ⴰⴳⵍⵍⵉⴷ ⵎⵓⵃⵎⵎⴷ ⵡⵉⵙⵙ ⵚⴹⵉⵚ ⵉ ⵇⴰⴷⴰⵙⴰⵜ ⵏ ⴱⴰⴱⴰ ⵍⵉⵢⵓ ⵡⵉⵙⵙ 14 ⵙ ⵓⵣⵎⵣⵣⵓ ⵏ ⵓⵙⵜⴰⵢ ⴰⴷ ⵢⴰⵎⵥ ⴰⴷⴰⴱⵓ ⴰⴱⴰⴱⴰⵡⵉⵢ" [Message of Congratulations of the Commander of the Faithful His Majesty King Mohammed VI to His Holiness Pope Leo XIV on the Occasion of His Election to the Papacy] (in Standard Moroccan Tamazight). Maghreb Arabe Presse. 9 May 2025. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  2. ↑ Balta, Paul; Rulleau, Claudine (1990). Le Grand Maghreb. Des indépendances à l'an 2000 (in French). La Découverte. pp. 107–130. doi:10.3917/dec.balta.1990.01. ISBN   978-2-7071-1927-8. Dès le mois d'août 1957, le roi (l'appellation « Sa Majesté impériale le Sultan » a été remplacée le 18 août 1957 par « Sa Majesté le Roi ») avait réclamé l'ouverture de négociations sur les frontières avec l'Algérie, puis revendiqué la Mauritanie.
  3. ↑ "Mohammed VI takes Moroccan throne". BBC News. 24 July 1999. Archived from the original on 8 July 2004. Retrieved 18 February 2010.
  4. 1 2 "La Constitution du Royaume du Maroc" (PDF). Royaume du Maroc - Secrétariat Général du Gouvernement. 17 June 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 September 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  5. ↑ "Morocco King to lose some powers, remain key figure". Reuters. 17 June 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  6. ↑ Voice of America (30 July 2011). "Moroccan King Calls for Prompt Parliamentary Elections" . Retrieved 8 December 2012.
  7. ↑ Bouasria, Abdelilah (2015). Sufism and Politics in Morocco: Activism and Dissent. Routledge. p. 40. ISBN   978-1-317-68144-1.
  8. ↑ Daadaoui, M. (2011). Moroccan Monarchy and the Islamist Challenge: Maintaining Makhzen Power. Springer. p. 52. ISBN   978-0-230-12006-8.
  9. ↑ Maury, Jean-Pierre (2011). "Royaume du Maroc, Constitution de 2011, Digithèque MJP". Digithèque MJP (in French). Archived from the original on 8 January 2025. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
  10. ↑ "Moroccan man jailed for five years for criticising king in Facebook posts". The Guardian. Agence France-Presse. 3 August 2023. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 4 August 2023.
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