People: King Mohammed VI of Morocco (Wiki)

Mohammed VI (: محمد السادس, : Muḥammad as-sādis; born 21 August 1963) is . A member of the , he acceded to the throne on 23 July 1999, upon the death of his father, King .

Mohammed has vast business holdings across several economic sectors in . His net worth has been estimated at between US$2.1 billion and over US$5.2 billion. In 2015, named him the and the fifth .

Upon ascending to the throne, Mohammed initially introduced several reforms and changed the to grant more rights to . from in 2010 led to allegations of in the court of Mohammed, implicating him and his closest advisors. In 2011, that were considered part of the wider occurred against alleged government corruption. In response, Mohammed enacted several reforms and introduced . These reforms were passed by on 1 July 2011. In foreign policy, he prioritized relations with African countries and international recognition of to the territory of .

Mohammed was born on 21 August 1963, as the second child and first son of King and his wife, . As their eldest son, he was from birth.^[]

Mohammed's father was keen on giving him a religious and political education from an early age; at the age of four, he started attending the Quranic school at the Royal Palace. His educational routine commenced at 6 am with an hour-long recitation of the Quran, followed by formal lessons. He completed his first primary and secondary studies at the , a specialized college constructed within the fortified walls of the palace. Hassan II, desiring his son to experience competitive pressure, selected 12 classmates recognized for their intellect to accompany Mohammed in his studies. As depicted in Le Roi prédateur, a 2012 biography authored by two French journalists, there is an account of Hassan instructing his aides to administer twenty lashes to Mohammed when he appeared to lag in his studies.

At the age of ten, Mohammed began representing his father at foreign engagements, the first being the funeral of French president in 1974. According to a childhood friend, Mohammed harboured fantasies about the world beyond the palace walls and seldom ventured outside. One of his favourite songs was "" by the English rock band , which celebrates the allure of travel by jumbo jet. Mohammed excelled in languages.

Mohammed attained his in 1981, before gaining a in law at the in 1985. His research paper dealt with "the Arab-African Union and the Strategy of the Kingdom of Morocco in matters of International Relations". He was furthermore appointed president of the , and was a of the on 26 November 1985. Mohammed served as the Coordinator of the Offices and Services of the Royal Armed Forces until 1994.^[]

In 1987, Mohammed obtained his first Certificat d'Études Supérieures (CES) in political sciences, and in July 1988 he obtained a Diplôme d'Études Approfondies () in public law. In November 1988, he trained in with , the President of the .

According to a biography by Ferran Sales Aige, Mohammed's father received reports from his spies indicating that the young prince was visiting bars regularly. This led to a deepening dissatisfaction from the king towards his son. In a moment of despair, Hassan II was rumoured to have described his son's behaviour as a "chromosome error." Mohammed was sent to study law in , with his activities closely monitored by the interior minister dispatched by his father. He obtained his in law on 29 October 1993 from the French for his thesis on "- Relations". On 12 July 1994, he was promoted to the military rank of , and that same year he became president of the High Council of Culture and of the Royal Moroccan Army.

According to the New York Times, before ascending to the throne, Mohammed "gained a reputation as a playboy during the years he spent waiting in the wings, showing a fondness for fast cars and nightclubs." Over time, a noticeable estrangement developed between him and his father. He actively avoided encounters with Hassan II, even during his visits to Morocco. Instead, he frequently frequented Amnesia, an illicit club located underground in the capital city. According to Le Roi prédateur, Mohammed's close friend from school, , facilitated his visits to Amnesia by installing a private lift from his apartment above that descended directly to the club's premises.

Mohammed ascended the throne on the of his father on 23 July 1999. He was formally enthroned one week later and made a televised address, promising to take on poverty and , while creating jobs and improving record. conservatives opposed his reformist rhetoric, and some of his reforms angered . His initial directives also included the dismissal of his father's hardline interior minister, , and the appointment of some of his former classmates to key positions in the state bureaucracy.

Mohammed and his sister, , made a state visit to the United States in June 2000, as guests of the president . The designated Morocco as a in 2004. The two countries later signed a free-trade agreement in 2006, the only one of its kind between the United States and an African country, which was met with some criticism within Morocco due to increasing .

In February 2004, Mohammed enacted a new family code (), which granted women more power. In July, he announced that Morocco would lift visa restrictions for Algerians, with Algerian president reciprocating the measure in 2005. Mohammed also created the , which was tasked with researching under Hassan II. This move was welcomed by many as promoting but was also criticized because the commission's reports did not name the perpetrators. According to human rights organizations, human rights violations are still common in Morocco.

In March 2006, the government created the (CORCAS), an advisory committee which defends Morocco's , and whose members are appointed by the king. The CORCAS proposed a , provided it remains under Moroccan sovereignty. Mohammed went on to visit Western Sahara in 2006 and 2015.

The , led by the 20 February Movement, were primarily motivated by corruption and general political discontentment, as well as by the hardships of the . Then-recent revolutions influenced the demonstrations in and which overthrew their respective leaders, and demands by protesters included "urgent" political and social reforms, including the relinquishment of some of the King's powers.

In a speech delivered on 9 March 2011, Mohammed said that parliament would receive "new powers that enable it to discharge its representative, legislative, and regulatory mission". In addition, the powers of the judiciary were granted greater independence from the king, who announced that he was empanelling a committee of legal scholars to produce a draft constitution by June 2011. On 1 July, voters approved a set of political reforms proposed by the king in a .

The reforms consisted of the following:

• is designated an official national language, along with standard .
• The state preserves and protects the dialect and all the linguistic components of as a heritage of the nation.
• The (officially titled "head of government") presides over the Council of Government, which prepares the general policy of the state; previously the king held this position. The prime minister also has the power to dissolve the parliament.
• The king now must appoint the prime minister from the party that wins the most seats in the parliamentary elections, but it can be any member of the winning party and not necessarily the party's leader. Previously, the king could nominate anybody he wanted for this position regardless of the election results. That was usually the case when no party had a big advantage over the other parties, in terms of the number of seats in the .
• The king is no longer "sacred or holy" but the "integrity of his person" is "inviolable".
• High administrative and diplomatic posts (including ambassadors, CEOs of state-owned companies, and provincial and regional governors) are now appointed by the prime minister and the ministerial council which is presided over by the king; previously the latter exclusively held this power.
• The parliament has the power to grant amnesty. Previously this was also exclusively held by the king.
• The king guarantees the independence of the judiciary system from the legislative and executive branches.
• Women are guaranteed "civic and social" equality with men. Previously, only "political equality" was guaranteed, though the 1996 constitution granted all citizens equality in terms of rights before the law.
• The king retains complete control over the armed forces and the judiciary as well as matters about religion and foreign policy, as well as the authority to appoint and dismiss prime ministers.
• In theory, all citizens have freedom of thought, ideas, artistic expression and creation. Previously only free speech and the freedom of circulation and association were guaranteed. However, is still punishable with prison.

In January 2017, Morocco banned the manufacturing, marketing, and sale of the .

Beginning in late 2019, several countries which supported Morocco in the established consulates in the Western Saharan cities of and , with a total of 28 as of 2023. In November 2020, an of the ongoing began when Sahrawi protesters blocked a road connecting to via Mauritania. Morocco responded by intervening militarily to resume the movement of people and goods through Guerguerat, which the Polisario Front said had violated the 1991 ceasefire agreement.

On 20 December 2022, Mohammed invited the to a reception at the in Rabat, following their reaching fourth place at the , and awarded the members of the team with the . In March 2023, he was invited by president of the (CAF) to receive the CAF's outstanding achievement award. During the awards ceremony in , , attending on behalf of the king, announced in a letter written by Mohammed that Morocco would join the as a co-host. The bid was unanimously approved by the FIFA Council in October.

In May 2023, Mohammed authorized the creation of a national public holiday for (Berber New Year).

Following the which killed nearly three thousand people, Mohammed visited hospitals to support victims and donated blood for the needy. Under his instructions, the royal holding donated one billion dirhams for relief operations of quake-hit regions.

In the latter part of his reign, Mohammed increasingly prioritized African relations in Morocco's foreign policy. In July 2016, Mohammed addressed a letter to the 27th (AU) summit in , in which he requested Moroccan admission to the organization. Morocco had previously been a member of the AU's predecessor, the , until it withdrew in 1984 in protest at the admission of the . Mohammed justified his country's withdrawal saying that "the admission of a non-sovereign entity, by means of transgression and collusion" had prompted Morocco to "seek to avoid the division of Africa". Morocco was admitted to the African Union in January 2017.

Under his administration, Morocco developed partnerships with the as well as other non-traditional , mainly China and Russia, intending to diversify trade links and foreign investments and limit Morocco's traditional reliance on the and other Western countries. The country offered to act as a mediator in the and remained neutral in the .

Morocco and Israel restored on 10 December 2020, as part of the involving the United States, which at the same time recognized over . In June 2021, Mohammed congratulated on his election as Israeli prime minister. On the in November 2021, the king announced that Morocco would continue to push for a restart of . He called on both sides "to refrain from actions that obstruct the peace process".

In August 2022, Mohammed confirmed in a speech that the Western Sahara issue would form the basis for Morocco's foreign policy, through which it "measures the sincerity of friendships and the efficiency of partnerships". He called on other countries "to clarify their positions" on the conflict "and reconsider them in a manner that leaves no room for doubt". In 2023, Israel under the became the second country to recognize Moroccan sovereignty over the territory, followed by the following year.

remained strained, despite calls from Mohammed for a reconciliation. Tensions intensified in the 2020s, primarily as a result of the Israel–Morocco normalization agreement and Western Saharan border clashes. In August 2021, Algeria accused Morocco of supporting the , which it blamed for in northern Algeria, and later severed diplomatic relations with Morocco.

In February 2023, Mohammed and his foreign minister visited , meeting with its president and conducting a donation of 2,000 tonnes of fertilizer to the country. On 4 December 2023, Mohammed and his entourage made an official visit to , at the invitation of UAE President Sheikh , in which the two leaders signed a declaration committing to the development of "deep-rooted" bilateral relations.

Mohammed is Morocco's leading businessman and banker. In 2015, he was estimated by magazine to be worth US$5.7bn although in 2019 Business Insider quoted a figure of just US$2.1 billion. The Moroccan Royal Family, meanwhile, has one of the largest fortunes in the world. Together, they hold the majority stakes in the holding, formerly named the Société Nationale d'Investissement (SNI), which was originally state-owned but was merged in 2013 with Omnium Nord Africain (), to form a single that was taken off the —resulting in the scrapping of an equivalent of 50 billion dirhams (~US$6 billion). Al Mada has a diverse portfolio consisting of many important businesses in Morocco, operating in various sectors including: (), (), Onapar, (tourism/ and exclusive distributor of ), Wafa Assurance (), ( chain), (), (), , (exclusive distributor of - in Morocco), (exclusive distributor of Renault in Morocco) and (energy). It also owns many food-processing companies and is currently in the process of disengaging from this sector. Between mid-2012 and 2013, the holding sold Lessieur, Centrale Laitière, Bimo and Cosumar to foreign groups for a total amount of ~$1.37 billion (11.4 billion Dirhams including 9.7 billion in 2013 and 1.7 in 2012).

SNI and ONA both owned stakes in , the largest manufacturer and distributor of brands such as in the country. In March 2018, the SNI adopted its current name, Al Mada.

Mohammed is also a leading agricultural producer and land owner in Morocco, where agriculture is exempted from taxes. His personal holding company has shares in the large agricultural group Les domaines agricoles (originally called Les domaines royaux, now commonly known as Les domaines), which was founded by Hassan II. In 2008, estimated that Les domaines had a revenue of $157 million (1.5 billion dirhams), with 170,000 tons of exported in that year. According to the same magazine, the company officially owns 12,000 of agricultural lands. Chergui, a manufacturer of , is the most recognizable brand of the group. Between 1994 and 2004, the group has been managed by Mohammed VI's brother-in-law Khalid Benharbit, the husband of . Les domaines also owns the Royal Golf de Marrakech, which originally belonged to .

His palace's daily operating budget is reported by to be $960,000, which is paid by the Moroccan state as part of a 2.576 billion dirhams/year budget as of 2014, with much of it accounted for by the expense of personnel, clothes, and car repairs.

Protests broke out in Rabat, the capital of Morocco, on 2 August 2013, after Mohammed pardoned 48 jailed Spaniards, including Daniel Galván, a pedophile who had been serving a 30-year sentence for raping 11 children aged between 4 and 15. Upon the protests, the King revoked Galván's pardon and Morocco issued an international arrest warrant; Galván was arrested in Spain, where he continued his sentence.

Those pardoned included a drug trafficking suspect, who was released before standing trial. The detainee, Antonio Garcia, a recidivist drug trafficker, had been arrested in possession of 9 tons of in and was sentenced to 10 years. He had resisted arrest using a firearm. Some media claimed that his release embarrassed Spain.

Royal involvement in business is a major topic in Morocco, but public discussion of it is sensitive. The US embassy in Rabat reported to Washington in a leaked cable that "corruption is prevalent at all levels of Moroccan society". Corruption allegedly reaches the highest levels in Morocco, where the business interests of Mohammed VI and some of his advisors influence "every large housing project," according to documents published in December 2010 and quoted in newspaper. The documents released by the whistleblower website also quote the case of a businessman working for a US consortium, whose plans in Morocco were paralysed for months after he refused to join forces with a company linked with the royal palace. The documents quoted a company executive linked to the royal family as saying at a meeting that decisions on big investments in the kingdom were taken by only three people: the king, his secretary , and the monarch's close friend, adviser and former classmate . This corruption especially affects the housing sector, the WikiLeaks documents show.

In April 2016, Mohammed's personal secretary, , was named in the .

Mohammed has three sisters: , , and and one brother, . The noted "conflicting reports about whether the new monarch had been married on Friday night, within hours of his father's death [in 1999]... to heed a Moroccan tradition that a King be married before he ascends the throne." A palace official subsequently denied that a marriage had taken place.

His engagement to was announced on 12 October 2001. They married in private in on 21 March 2002, and their wedding was celebrated at the in Rabat on 12 and 13 July 2002.^[] Bennani became with the style of on her marriage. They had two children: Crown Prince Moulay (born 8 May 2003) and (born 28 February 2007). The couple's divorce was announced on 21 March 2018.

Mohammed's birthday on 21 August is a , although festivities were cancelled upon the death of his aunt in 2014.

In 2020, Mohammed purchased an €80 million mansion in from the .

Mohammed's health has been a recurring topic both within and outside Morocco.

In 2017, he underwent a successful surgery at the in Paris to remove a in his left eye. In February 2018, he underwent a to normalize an irregular heart rate, and was visited by members of the royal family. In September 2019, the King was advised to rest for several days to recover from acute , while his son Crown Prince represented him at former French President 's funeral. In June 2020, he underwent a procedure in Rabat to treat a recurrence of .

In June 2022, Mohammed tested positive for . His personal doctor said he did not exhibit symptoms and recommended "a period of rest for a few days". reported that he contracted the disease while on a private visit to France. On 10 July 2022, he made his first public appearance since recovering from COVID-19 when he performed rituals and prayers. In December 2024 he underwent surgery after fracturing his left shoulder in a fall.

As monarch, Mohammed assumed the custodianship of several national orders upon his accession to the throne.

• Grand Master of the (23 July 1999)
• Grand Master of the (23 July 1999)
• Grand Master of the (23 July 1999)
• Grand Master of the Order of the Independence Combat (23 July 1999)
• Grand Master of the Order of Fidelity (23 July 1999)
• Grand Master of the (23 July 1999)

Mohammed has received numerous honours and decorations from various countries, some of which are listed below.

• Grand Officer of the of (7 July 1977)^[]
• Knight of the Collar of the of (2 June 1979)
• Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the of (27 October 1980)
• Knight Grand Cross of the of (23 June 1986)
• Grand Cordon of the of (August 1987)
• Grand Cross of the (6 February 1988)
• Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the of (18 March 1997)
• Grand Cross of the of Portugal (13 August 1998)
• Grand Cross of the of (19 March 2000)^[]
• of the of (1 March 2000)
• Collar of the of (11 April 2000)
• Grand Cordon of the of (26 April 2000)
• Grand Cross of the of (24 May 2000)^[]
• Grand Cross of the (14 June 2000)
• Knight of the Collar of the of (16 September 2000)
• Wissam of the of (9 April 2001)
• Extraordinary Grade of the of (13 June 2001)
• First Class Medal of the of the (29 June 2001)
• Grand Collar of the of (28 July 2001)

• Collar of the of (22 October 2002)
• Cordon of the of (25 October 2002)
• Collar of the of (28 October 2002)
• Grand Cross of the First Class () of (19 July 2003)^[]
• Grand Cross of the of (17 June 2004)
• Grand Cross of the Order of the Equatorial Star of Gabon (21 June 2004)
• Grand Cross of the National Order of (24 June 2004)
• Grand Cordon of the of (5 October 2004)^[]
• Collar of the of (26 November 2004)
• (1 December 2004)
• Collar of the of (3 December 2004)
• Grand Collar of the of (7 December 2004)^[]
• Knight of Collar of the of Spain (14 January 2005)
• Collar of the of (11 February 2005)
• Grand Cross of the of (1 March 2005)
• Collar of the of (28 November 2005)
• Grand Commander of the of (20 February 2006)
• Grand Cross of the of the (22 February 2006)
• Grand Cross of the of (28 February 2006)
• Commander Grand Cross with Chain of the of Latvia (14 May 2007)
• Collar of the of (18 May 2007)
• Grand Collar of the of (17 April 2009)
• Grand Cross of the (2013)
• Grand Cross of the of (4 March 2014)
• Collar of the of (31 May 2014)
• Grand Cross of the (1 June 2015)
• Collar of the (4 May 2015)
• Grand Cordon of the (2016)
• Grand Cross of the (21 November 2016)
• Grand Collar of the of Portugal (28 June 2016)
• Companion of the (17 February 2017)
• Grand Cross of the (24 May 2017)
• of the United States (14 May 2019)
• Chief Commander of the of the United States (16 January 2021)

Honorary prizes:

• On 22 June 2000, Mohammed received an from .
• On 19 May 2022, Mohammed was awarded the Esquipulas Peace Prize by the Forum of Legislative Presidents of Central America and the Caribbean Basin (FOPREL).
• On 14 March 2023, Mohammed was awarded the President's Outstanding Achievement Award by .

• Laurenson, John. . . 11 March 2006.
• —