Asmaa Rhlalou
{{Short description|Moroccan journalist and politician}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Asmaa Rhlalou
| office = Mayor of Rabat
| termstart = 24 September 2021
| termend = 28 February 2024
| office2 = Member of the Moroccan Parliament
| termstart2 = 2016
| termend2 = 2021
| preceded = Mohamed Sadiki
| succeeded = Fatiha El Moudni
| party = National Rally of Independents
| alma_mater = University of Perpignan
| image =
}}
File:Asmaa_Rhlalou_2023_(cropped).jpg
Asmaa Rhlalou is a Moroccan journalist and politician of the National Rally of Independents (RNI). She has been a member of the Moroccan Parliament and was elected as the mayor of the Moroccan capital Rabat by the municipal council in September 2021.{{Cite web|title=Maroc : Tout savoir sur Asmaa Rhlalou, première femme élue maire de Rabat|url=https://www.cnews.fr/monde/2021-09-24/maroc-tout-savoir-sur-asmaa-rhlalou-premiere-femme-elue-maire-de-rabat-1130196|access-date=2021-09-27|website=CNEWS|language=fr}}
Early life and education
Rhlalou enrolled in the French University of Perpignan, from which she obtained a doctorate from the faculty of economics in 2006.{{Cite web|title=Qui est Asma Rhlalou, la nouvelle maire de Rabat?|url=https://api.snrtnews.com/fr/article/qui-est-asma-rhlalou-nouvelle-maire-de-rabat|url-status=live|access-date=2021-10-05|website=SNRT|language=fr|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211002122157/https://api.snrtnews.com/fr/article/qui-est-asma-rhlalou-nouvelle-maire-de-rabat |archive-date=2021-10-02 }}
Journalistic career
Rhlalou has been writing for the L'Opinion since 1997,{{Cite web|date=2021-09-25|title=Biography of Asmaa Rhlalou president of the city council of Rabat|url=https://new.in-24.com/News/223037.html|access-date=2021-09-28|website=New in 24 English|language=en-us}} besides she was a reporter for the Arabic language MBC group for two years.
Political career
Since the age of fifteen years, Rhlalou was politically active. She was involved in the Istiqlal party for ten years and in 2015 she was invited to join the RNI for which she was elected into the Moroccan Parliament for the term 2016 to 2021.{{Cite web|date=2018-05-17|title=Lourdes accusations à l'encontre de Bouanou (VIDEO)|url=https://www.lesiteinfo.com/politique/lourdes-accusations-a-lencontre-de-bouanou-video/|access-date=2021-09-27|website=Le Site Info|language=fr-FR|archive-date=2021-09-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924185323/https://www.lesiteinfo.com/politique/lourdes-accusations-a-lencontre-de-bouanou-video/|url-status=dead}} As a deputy of Morocco she represented Morocco in the Women's Political leader's summit in Reykyavik in 2017{{Cite web|date=2017-12-04|title=Participation du Maroc au Forum Mondial des Femmes Leaders en politique à Rekjavick|url=https://www.maroc.ma/fr/actualites/participation-du-maroc-au-forum-mondial-des-femmes-leaders-en-politique-rekjavick|access-date=2021-09-27|website=Maroc.ma|language=fr}} and Tokyo in 2019.{{Cite web|title=Women Political Leaders Summit 2019|url=https://www.womenpoliticalleaders.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/WPL-Summit-2019-Tokyo.pdf|url-status=live|website=www.womenpoliticalleaders.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210927044612/https://www.womenpoliticalleaders.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/WPL-Summit-2019-Tokyo.pdf |archive-date=2021-09-27 }} Following her parties success in the General elections in September 2021, she was elected as the mayor of Rabat by the municipal council supported by a broad coalition of the RNI, Istiqlal, Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM).{{Cite web|last=Kasraoui|first=Safaa|title=Asmaa Rhlalou Elected as Rabat's First Female Mayor|url=https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2021/09/344583/asmaa-rhlalou-elected-as-rabat-s-first-female-mayor|url-status=live|access-date=2021-09-27|website=www.moroccoworldnews.com|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924121755/https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2021/09/344583/asmaa-rhlalou-elected-as-rabat-s-first-female-mayor |archive-date=2021-09-24 }}
In 2023, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres appointed Rhlalou to his Advisory Group on Local and Regional Governments, co-chaired by Pilar Cancela Rodríguez and Fatimatou Abdel Malick.[https://press.un.org/en/2023/sga2233.doc.htm Local and Regional Engagement, Action and Multi-Level Cooperation Are Vital to Rescue SDGs and Contribute to Topics under the Summit of Future] United Nations, press release of 6 October 2023.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhlalou, Asmaa}}
Category:Women mayors of places in Morocco
Category:Moroccan women journalists
Category:21st-century journalists
Category:21st-century women journalists
Category:21st-century Moroccan women writers
Category:21st-century Moroccan women politicians
Category:21st-century Moroccan politicians