Muhammad VI
Muhammad VI 1963-, king of Morocco (1999-), formerly Muhammad ben Al-Hassan, crown prince Sidi Muhammad. He studied at Muhammad V Univ., Rabat, where he received bachelor's (1985) and master's (1988) degrees in law, and at the Univ. of Nice, France, where he obtained (1993) his doctorate in law. In the 1990s, as the health of his father King Hassan II declined, the crown price assumed a greater role in the government. In 1994 he was promoted to general and became coordinator of the Royal Armed Forces, and in 1998 he initiated a wide-ranging antipoverty program. When Hassan died in 1999, the crown price succeeded him as Muhammad VI. He has worked toward various social and economic improvements and has established a reputation as a generally moderate monarch.
Shortly after he took the throne, he addressed his nation via television, promising to take on poverty and corruption, while creating jobs and improving Morocco's human rights record. Mohammed VI is generally opposed by Islamistconservatives, and some of his reforms have angered fundamentalists. He also created a new family code, or Mudawana, which granted women more power. The law came into effect in February, 2004.
Mohammed VI also created the so-called Instance Equité et Réconciliation (IER), a commission, which was supposed to research human rights violations under Hassan II. The commission was however not allowed to mention Mohammed's predecessor or report about human rights violations since 1999, when Mohammed was enthroned. This move was welcomed by many as a move towards democracy, but also criticized because the commission could not criticize the violation of freedom of speech, which according to human rights organisations still exists in Morocco.
King Mohammed pardoned on 4 April 2008 eight demonstrators convicted in 2007 on charges of undermining the monarchy. The eight men, all members of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights, were detained after chanting slogans critical of the monarchy.
Mohammed has one brother, Prince Moulay Rachid, and three sisters, Princess Lalla Meryem, Princess Lalla Asma, and Princess Lalla Hasna. On 21 March 2002 he married Salma Bennani (now HRH Princess Lalla Salma) in Rabat, giving her the title of Princess. Princess Lalla Salma has two children, Crown Prince Moulay Hassan, who was born on 8 May 2003 and Princess Lalla Khadija who was born on 28 February 2007.
Mohammed and his family have The ONA GROUP which is a Holding invested in several areas of activity ( mining, food processing, retail and financial services ...) making the Royal family one of the largest fortunes of the world.
Shortly after he took the throne, he addressed his nation via television, promising to take on poverty and corruption, while creating jobs and improving Morocco's human rights record. Mohammed VI is generally opposed by Islamistconservatives, and some of his reforms have angered fundamentalists. He also created a new family code, or Mudawana, which granted women more power. The law came into effect in February, 2004.
Mohammed VI also created the so-called Instance Equité et Réconciliation (IER), a commission, which was supposed to research human rights violations under Hassan II. The commission was however not allowed to mention Mohammed's predecessor or report about human rights violations since 1999, when Mohammed was enthroned. This move was welcomed by many as a move towards democracy, but also criticized because the commission could not criticize the violation of freedom of speech, which according to human rights organisations still exists in Morocco.
King Mohammed pardoned on 4 April 2008 eight demonstrators convicted in 2007 on charges of undermining the monarchy. The eight men, all members of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights, were detained after chanting slogans critical of the monarchy.
Mohammed has one brother, Prince Moulay Rachid, and three sisters, Princess Lalla Meryem, Princess Lalla Asma, and Princess Lalla Hasna. On 21 March 2002 he married Salma Bennani (now HRH Princess Lalla Salma) in Rabat, giving her the title of Princess. Princess Lalla Salma has two children, Crown Prince Moulay Hassan, who was born on 8 May 2003 and Princess Lalla Khadija who was born on 28 February 2007.
Mohammed and his family have The ONA GROUP which is a Holding invested in several areas of activity ( mining, food processing, retail and financial services ...) making the Royal family one of the largest fortunes of the world.
