Mohammed Ben Al-Hassan

King of Morocco

(Arabic News, BBC News)

Mohammed Ben Al-Hassan was groomed for leadership almost since the time of his birth in Rabat on 21 August 1963. He entered Quranic school at the Royal Palace at the age of four and undertook his primary and secondary education at Royal College, where he graduated in 1981. He received a bachelor’s degree in law from Rabat Mohammed V University in 1985 and a doctorate in law from Nice-Sophia Antipolis in France in 1993. Starting in 1984, his father Hassan II sent him on numerous missions on the national, international, and Arab levels. His duties included chairing a delegation of the Organization of African Unity in 1983, chairing the Moroccan delegation to the seventh summit of the Non-Aligned Movement the same year and taking charge of the Royal Armed Forces in 1985. On 30 July 1999, he ascended the throne and received the title King Mohammed VI. He has made numerous political and economic changes. Reforms include the legalization of moderate Islamic parties, the release of political prisoners and further press freedom. The king also has also strived to help the poor through a series of measures, although many observers point out that much more work is needed. The new Mudwana family law, which gives expanded rights to women, has been one of the most controversial of King Mohammed VI's reforms. New anti-terrorism laws and combating extremists has also been a major focus of his since an attack in Casablanca in May 2002. The king is married to computer engineer Salma Bennani and his son Moulay Al-Hassan is crown prince.