MOROCCO: NEW CABINET SWORN IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 RABAT 001607

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/15/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR MO
SUBJECT: MOROCCO: NEW CABINET SWORN IN

REF: A. RABAT 1601


B. RABAT 1599 AND PREVIOUS

Classified by DCM Robert P. Jackson for reasons 1.4 (b) and
(d).


1. (C) Summary: On the afternoon of October 15, King Mohammed
VI swore in the cabinet assembled by new Prime Minister Abbas
El-Fassi. As predicted ref A, Taieb Fassi Fihri is
Morocco's new Foreign Minister. The other "sovereign"
ministries - Defense, Interior, and Islamic Affairs, remain
in tact from the previous cabinet. (See para 4 for an
annotated listing of the new cabinet.) These and other
positions in the new cabinet are occupied by individuals well
and favorably known to the USG. In our initial count, seven
of the 33 new Ministers are alumnae of the International
Visitor Program. End summary.


2. (C) The new cabinet, which has been reduced from 34 to 33
portfolios, contains seven women, up from four in the
previous government. The new cabinet is a mixture of
representatives from four political parties (royalist parties
Istiqlal ("independence") and the National Rally of
Independents (RNI),along with the leftist Union of Socialist
Popular Forces (USFP) and and the Party of Progress and
Socialism (PPS)) and non-partisan technocrats. The Mouvement
Populaire (MP),the Berber-influenced party which had also
been expected to join the coalition, has instead moved to the
opposition after rejecting the cabinet slots Fassi had been
offering them.


3. (C) Without the MP's 41 seats, Fassi's governing coalition
is in a minority - with only 146 of 325 total seats in the
Chamber of Deputies. However, royal confidante and former
Deputy Interior Minister Fouad Ali El-Himma, who successfully
ran for a seat in the new Parliament last month, has formed a
new bloc of small parties comprising approximately 30 seats.
(This was largely at the expense of the Union
Constitutionelle, whose caucus has shrunk from 27 to ten
seats.) Himma has pledged that the new small-party caucus he
leads will support Fassi's government, without formally
participating, an arrangement that has several precedents in
modern Morocco's political history. This development will
support speculation that Himma was tasked by the Palace to
move into the Parliament to change its dynamic from within.


4. (C) A partially annotated listing of the new cabinet
follows:

Prime Minister: Abbas El-Fassi: Party chief of the Istiqlal,
which took the most seats in the September elections;

Minister of State without Portfolio: Mohammed El-Yazghi.
Chief of the USFP, Yazghi served in the previous cabinet as
Minister of Water and Territorial Development. He is
unpopular among many in his own party for his autocratic
management style. He is an IV program alumnus;

Minister of Foreign Affairs: Taieb Fassi Fihri (TFF). TFF,
often seen in the last government as the "defacto" Foreign
Minister, has been promoted to the official title. See ref A
for bio information and commentary;

Minister of Justice: Abdelwahed Radi. A senior USFP member,
Radi was speaker of the previous parliament. Like USFP
colleague Yazghi, Radi is seen a symbol of the party's
sclerotic leadership. He is an IV program alumnus;

Minister of Interior: Chakib Benmoussa. Returning to the
same job, Benmoussa is an urbane MIT graduate who gained a
reputation for competence and keeping cool under pressure in
the previous government. He has no partisan affiliation;

Minister of Islamic Affairs: Ahmed Toufiq. Returning to the
same job, Toufiq is known for his pragmatic efforts to
counter extremism through the promotion of moderate Islamic
discourse in Morocco. No partisan affiliation;

Minister of Economy and Finance: Salaheddine Mezouar. An RNI
activist, he served in the previous government as Minister of
Industry;

Minister of Health: Yasmina Baddou. One of the "stars" of
the Istiqlal Party, she served as social affairs minister in
the previous government;


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Minister of Agriculture: Aziz Akhenouch. A prominent Agadir
businessman and community leader known for close ties to the
Palace. His party affiliation is not known;

Minister of Housing: Ahmed Toufiq Hejira. Returning to the
cabinet in the same job, Hejira is one of Istiqlal's most
popular "young" leaders;

Minister of Transport: Karim Ghellab. Returning to the
cabinet in the same job, Ghellab is another of Istiqlal's
most talented and relatively young leaders;

Minister of Parliamentary Affairs: Mohammed Saad Alami.
Returning to the cabinet in the same job, Alami is a
life-long Istiqlal member, and also mayor of Chefchaouen, a
tourist destination in the mountains of Northern Morocco. He
is an IV program alumnus;

Minister of Energy, Mines, Water, and Environment: Amina
Benkhadra. An RNI figure, she has previous experience in the
Ministry of Energy and mines (now combined with water and
environment);

Secretary-General of the Government: Abdessadek Rabii. A

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veteran who has held this post for several terms, Rabii is
charged with certifying the constitutionality of laws passed
by parliament;

Minister of Education: Ahmed Akhchichine. A former
Secretary-General of the Higher Audio-Visual Council (roughly

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analogous to the FCC),he has no known partisan affiliation;

Minister of Communication and Government Spokesman: Khalid
Naciri. From the leftist PPS, Naciri is an IV program
alumnus;

Minister of Tourism: Mohammed Boussaid. An RNI activist,
Boussaid is known for specializing in privatization
initiatives in the previous government. He is an IV program
alumnus;

Minister of Social Development, Family, and Solidarity:
Nouzha Skalli. A Casablancan pharmacist and former MP from
the leftist PPS, she is a prominent feminist;

Minister of Youth and Sport: Nawal El Moutawakil. A gold
medalist from the 1984 olympics, she held the same
Ministerial post in the mid-1990s.

Minister of Culture: Touriya Jabrane. A well known actress,
she is from the USFP;

Minister of Employment and Professional Training: Jamal
Aghmani;

Minister of Industry, Commerce, and New Technologies: Ahmed
Chami, from the USFP;

Minister of Foreign Trade: Abdelatif Maazoz;

Minister Delegate for Defense: Abderrahmane Sbai. Returning
to the cabinet in the same post, Sbai handles administrative
rather than policy matters. The King serves as his own
Defense Minister;

Minister Delegate to the Prime Minister for Economic and
General Affairs: Nizar Baraka. He is a senior Istiqlal Party
member and confidante of PM Fassi;

Minister Delegate for Public Sector Modernization: Mohammed
Abbou. His drawn from the RNI;

Minister Delegate to the Prime Minister for Moroccan
Expatriate Affairs: Mohammed Ameur. A USFP nominee;

Secretary of State for the Ministry of Energy, Mines, Water,

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and Environment: Abdelkebir Zahoud. An Istiqlal activist, he
returns to the cabinet in the same job;

Secretary of State for Tourism and Handicrafts: Anis Birou.

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An RNI member, Birou held the same level post in the Ministry
of Education in the previous government;

Secretary of State for the Ministry of Interior: Saad Hassar.

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He is an MOI veteran with no known partisan affiliation;


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Secretary of State for the Ministry of Education: Latifa

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Labibda. Party affiliation not known;

Secretary of State for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Ahmed

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Lakhrif. Party affiliation not known;

Secretary of State for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs:

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Latifa Akherbach. Party affiliation not known;

Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing: Abdeslam

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Al-Mesbahi. Party affiliation not known;



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