Morocco gets first woman PM

King Mohammed VI appointed Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri on Tuesday as Morocco's first woman prime minister after her liberal-centrist party came out on top in a September 23 parliamentary election, the royal palace said. The king asked El Mansouri to form a new government, the palace said in a statement. El Mansouri's Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) was created in 2008 by an adviser to the king and has since positioned itself as a counterweight to the Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) by advocating social modernisation and secular-leaning views. Morocco is a constitutional monarchy where the king retains sweeping powers over foreign policy, defence and other key portfolios.