Abdelilah Benkirane

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Abdelilah Benkirane

| image = Abdelilah_Benkirane_2014-08-05.jpg

| caption = Benkirane in 2014

| office = Prime Minister of Morocco

| monarch = Mohammed VI

| term_start = 29 November 2011

| term_end = 17 March 2017

| predecessor = Abbas El Fassi

| successor = Saadeddine Othmani

| office1 = Leader of the Opposition

| primeminister1 = Abbas El Fassi

| term_start1 = 20 July 2008

| term_end1 = 29 November 2011

| predecessor1 = Saadeddine Othmani

| successor1 = Salaheddine Mezouar

| office2 = Leader of the Justice and Development Party

| spouse = Nabila Benkirane

| term_start2 = 30 October 2021

| predecessor2 = Saadeddine Othmani

| term_start3 = 20 July 2008

| term_end3 = 10 December 2017

| predecessor3 = Saadeddine Othmani

| successor3 = Saadeddine Othmani

| birth_date = 1954

| birth_place = Rabat, Morocco

| death_date =

| death_place =

| party = Justice and Development Party

| occupation = {{hlist|Politician|professor}}

| alma_mater = Mohammed V University

| signature = توقيع عبد الإله بنكيران.jpg

| office4 = Member of Parliament
for {{ill|Salé-Médina|fr|Circonscription de Salé-Médina}}

| termstart4 = 14 November 1997

| termend4 = 12 April 2017

| successor4 = Aziz Benbrahim

| native_name_lang = ar

| native_name = {{nobold|عبد الإله بنكيران}}

}}

Abdelilah Benkirane ({{langx|ar|عبد الإله بنكيران}}, born 1954) is a Moroccan politician who was the 15th Prime Minister of Morocco from November 2011 to March 2017.{{Cite news|url=http://www.france24.com/fr/20111126-pjd-concertations-partis-politique-maroc-abdelilah-benkirane-suffrages-legislatives|title=Le Parti justice et développement aux portes du pouvoir - France 24|date=2011-11-26|work=France 24|access-date=2018-02-24|language=fr-FR}}{{cite web|url=https://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFJOE80I08W20120119|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141017104317/http://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFJOE80I08W20120119|url-status=dead|archive-date=2014-10-17|title=Morocco's new govt targets 5.5 pct GDP growth | Reuters|date=2012-01-19|publisher=Reuters.com}} After having won a plurality of seats in the 2011 parliamentary election, his party, the moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party formed a coalition with three parties that had been part of previous governments.{{cite web|url=http://www.leconomiste.com/article/888949-legislatives-2011-trois-scenarios-pour-une-victoire|title=Législatives 2011: Trois scénarios pour une victoire|date=24 November 2011|publisher=L'économiste|access-date=25 November 2011}}{{cite web|url=http://www.adnkronos.com/IGN/Aki/Italiano/Politica/Marocco-leader-partito-islamico-garantiremo-le-liberta-individuali_312657838083.html|title=Marocco: leader partito islamico, garantiremo le liberta' individuali|publisher=Adnkronos|access-date=25 November 2011|archive-date=13 December 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111213195538/http://www.adnkronos.com/IGN/Aki/Italiano/Politica/Marocco-leader-partito-islamico-garantiremo-le-liberta-individuali_312657838083.html|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.lematin.ma/Actualite/Express/ArticlePrint.asp?id=18599 |title=Fin des travaux sur la culture de la réforme au Maroc |publisher=Le Matin |access-date=25 November 2011 }}{{dead link|date=June 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

Political career

During the 1970s, Benkirane was a leftist and Islamist political activist.{{cite news|title=Polygamy is not an option, says Morocco Islamist premier's wife|url=http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/12/01/180299.html|access-date=2 December 2011|newspaper=Al Arabiya News|date=1 December 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120103213151/http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/12/01/180299.html|archive-date=2012-01-03|url-status=dead}} He has represented Salé in the Moroccan parliament since 14 November 1997.{{cite web|title=النواب حسب الترتيب الأبجدي – الولاية التشريعية 2007–2012|url=http://www.parlement.ma/_archdeputes.php?filename=200804211628550|work=Moroccan Parliament website-|access-date=7 January 2013}} He was elected leader of the Justice and Development Party in July 2008, taking over from Saadeddine Othmani.{{cite web|title=Abdelilah Benkirane élu à la tête du PJD|url=http://www.jeunesdumaroc.com/+6889-Abdelillah-Benkirane-elu-a-la-tete+.html|publisher=JDM Magazine|access-date=25 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120405233849/http://www.jeunesdumaroc.com/+6889-Abdelillah-Benkirane-elu-a-la-tete+.html|archive-date=2012-04-05|url-status=dead}}

Benkirane's politics are democratic and Islamist. In a 2011 interview he said: "If I get into government, it won't be so I can tell young women how many centimeters of skirt they should wear to cover their legs. That's none of my business. It is not possible, in any case, for anyone to threaten the cause of civil liberties in Morocco".{{cite news|last=Bellem|first=Rahim|title=Benkiran : "Le Maroc a besoin d'une autre âme, islamiste"|access-date=26 November 2011|url=http://www.leparisien.fr/international/benkiran-le-maroc-a-besoin-d-une-autre-ame-islamiste-25-11-2011-1738359.php|newspaper=Le Parisien|date=25 November 2011}} However, he has in the past described secularism as "a dangerous concept for Morocco", and in 2010 he campaigned, unsuccessfully, to ban a performance in Rabat by Elton John because it "promoted homosexuality".{{cite web|url=http://www.lepoint.fr/monde/abdelilah-benkirane-un-islamiste-modere-au-pouvoir-29-11-2011-1401880_24.php |title=Abdelilah Benkirane, un islamiste modéré au pouvoir |publisher=Le Point |date=2011-11-29}}

= Prime Minister of Morocco =

Benkirane became Prime Minister on 29 November 2011. His government targeted average economic growth of 5.5 percent a year during its four-year mandate, and aimed to reduce the jobless rate to 8 percent by the end of 2016 from 9.1 percent at the start of 2012.{{cite web|url=https://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFJOE80I08W20120119 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141017104317/http://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFJOE80I08W20120119 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2014-10-17 |title=Morocco's new govt targets 5.5 pct GDP growth | Reuters |publisher=Reuters.com |date=2012-01-19}} Benkirane's government also actively pursued Morocco's ties with the European Union, its chief trade partner, as well as becoming increasingly engaged with the six-member Gulf Co-operation Council.

On 10 October 2016, Bankirane was reappointed after the Islamist party won parliamentary elections.{{Cite web |last=AfricaNews |date=2016-10-11 |title=Morocco's Islamist Prime Minister Benkirane reappointed into office |url=https://www.africanews.com/2016/10/11/morocco-s-islamist-prime-minister-benkirane-reappointed-into-office/ |access-date=2023-03-05 |website=Africanews |language=en}}{{Cite web |author=Al Jazeera Staff |title=Morocco’s Benkirane reappointed PM for another term |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/10/10/moroccan-king-reappoints-abdelilah-benkirane-as-pm |access-date=2023-03-05 |website=www.aljazeera.com |language=en}}{{Cite news |date=2016-10-10 |title=Morocco's king names PJD chief as new prime minister - party official |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-morocco-election-idUKKCN12A20E |access-date=2023-03-05}}

On 1 December 2016, Benkirane criticized the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad for its actions during the Syrian Civil War: "What the Syrian regime backed by Russia is doing to the Syrian people surpasses all humanitarian limits".{{Cite news|url=https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20161201-morocco-pm-slams-the-syrian-regimes-crimes-in-aleppo/|title=Morocco PM slams the Syrian regime's crimes in Aleppo}}

The Justice and Development Party retained the majority of seats in the 2016 Moroccan general election. However, Benkirane was unable to form a functioning government due to ongoing political negotiations. On 15 March 2017, after five months of post-election deadlock, King Mohammed VI ousted Benkirane as Prime Minister and said he would choose another leader from the Justice and Development Party.{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-morocco-politics-idUSKBN16M3A9|title=Morocco's king replaces PM Benkirane amid post-election deadlock|date=2017-03-16|work=Reuters|access-date=2017-03-16}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2017/03/15/le-roi-du-maroc-annonce-le-remplacement-du-premier-ministre-benkirane_5095152_3212.html|title=Le roi du Maroc annonce le remplacement du premier ministre Benkirane|date=2017-03-15|work=Le Monde.fr|access-date=2017-03-16|language=fr|issn=1950-6244}}{{Cite news|url=http://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2017/03/16/actualidad/1489618889_020801.html|title=El rey de Marruecos sustituye al jefe de Gobierno|date=2017-03-16|work=EL PAÍS|access-date=2017-03-16|language=es}}{{Cite news|url=https://apnews.com/9a0da46010e64b69bdfe48617a63fa84/Moroccan-king,-in-rare-move,-ousts-designated-prime-minister|title=Moroccan king, in rare move, ousts designated prime minister|work=AP News|access-date=2017-03-16|language=en-US}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.lalibre.be/actu/international/maroc-le-roi-va-remplacer-le-premier-ministre-benkirane-58c9c471cd70a15c9a2bcd6f|title=Maroc: le roi va remplacer le Premier ministre Benkirane|access-date=2017-03-16|language=fr}} On 17 March 2017 the king chose Saadeddine Othmani to replace Benkirane as Prime Minister.{{Cite news|url=http://www.france24.com/en/20170317-morocco-king-names-saad-eddine-el-othmani-new-prime-minister|title=King of Morocco names Saad Eddine El Othmani as new prime minister - France 24|date=2017-03-17|work=France 24|access-date=2017-03-17|language=en-US}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-morocco-politics-idUSKBN16O1WU|title=Morocco's king names PJD's Othmani as prime minister|date=2017-03-17|work=Reuters|access-date=2017-03-17}}

= Post-tenure =

On 12 April 2017,{{Cite web|url=http://quid.ma/politique/pour-quelle-raison-benkirane-demissionne-t-il-du-parlement--|title=Pour quelle raison Benkirane démissionne-t-il du parlement ?|website=quid.ma|language=fr|access-date=2018-02-24}} Abdelilah Benkirane resigned from the Moroccan Parliament claiming incompatibility. However, many in the media accused him of buying time in order to avoid showing his positions towards the newly appointed head of government, Saadeddine Othmani.

On 30 October 2021, Benkirane was elected as PJD secretary-general, following the resignation of Saadeddine Othmani in the aftermath of his party's loss in the 2021 Moroccan general election.{{Cite web|title=Benkirane Elected Morocco's PJD Party Secretary General|url=https://www.assahifa.com/english/?p=7344|access-date=2021-10-31|website=Assahifa}}

Personal life

Born in Rabat, Benkirane's family are originally from Fes. His father was interested in Sufism and Islamic fundamentalism, while his mother attended meetings of the women's branch of Istiqlal.{{cite web

|title = Abdelilah Benkirane, l'art de plaire et de convaincre

|publisher = Maroc Hebdo

|year = 2011

|url = http://www.maroc-hebdo.press.ma/Site-Maroc-hebdo/archive/Archives_956/html_956/convaincre.html

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120415005435/http://www.maroc-hebdo.press.ma/Site-Maroc-hebdo/archive/Archives_956/html_956/convaincre.html

|url-status=dead

|archive-date = 2012-04-15

|access-date = 2012-01-02

}}

Benkirane enjoys chess and music, although he says he is "not in favour of indecent music". His role model is his father, who died at the age of 90, when Benkirane was 16. He is married to a party activist and has six children. His youngest daughter is tetraplegic.{{cite news|title='I do not force my daughters to wear the veil,' says head of Morocco's Islamist JDP head|url=http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/11/30/180067.html|access-date=1 December 2011|newspaper=Al Arabiya News|date=30 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120103074035/http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/11/30/180067.html|archive-date=2012-01-03|url-status=dead}}