Abdelilah Benkirane
Encyclopedia
Abdelilah Benkirane is a Moroccan politician and leader of the Justice and Development Party
. His party won a plurality of seats in the November 2011 parliamentary election
, and he was appointed Prime Minister of Morocco on 29 November 2011.
He has represented Salé
in the Moroccan parliament since 14 November 1997. He was elected leader of the Justice and Development Party in July 2008, taking over from Saadeddine Othmani
.
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 centimetres 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".
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.
Justice and Development Party (Morocco)
The Justice and Development Party is the largest opposition political party in Morocco. The PJD advocates Islamism and Islamic democracy.-History:...
. His party won a plurality of seats in the November 2011 parliamentary election
Moroccan parliamentary election, 2011
An early parliamentary election was held in Morocco on 25 November 2011, brought forward from 2012 and then postponed from 7 October 2011.Public protests as part of the Arab Spring in February 2011 led King Mohammed VI to announce an early election, a process of constitutional reform granting new...
, and he was appointed Prime Minister of Morocco on 29 November 2011.
He has represented Salé
Salé
Salé is a city in north-western Morocco, on the right bank of the Bou Regreg river, opposite the national capital Rabat, for which it serves as a commuter town...
in the Moroccan parliament since 14 November 1997. He was elected leader of the Justice and Development Party in July 2008, taking over from Saadeddine Othmani
Saadeddine Othmani
Saadeddine Othmani is a Moroccan politician and psychiatrist. He was born in 1956 in Inezgane near Agadir in the Souss region. He earned a Doctorate in Medicine from the Hassan II University of Casablanca in...
.
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 centimetres 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
Civil liberties
Civil liberties are rights and freedoms that provide an individual specific rights such as the freedom from slavery and forced labour, freedom from torture and death, the right to liberty and security, right to a fair trial, the right to defend one's self, the right to own and bear arms, the right...
in Morocco".
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.