Mohammed VI of Morocco

About

Mohammed VI (Mohammed ben El Hassan Al Alaoui; born 21 August 1963) is King of Morocco. A member of the Alawi dynasty, he has reigned since 1999. Mohammed was born during the reign of his father, King Hassan II. At an early age, he began partaking in public engagements on behalf of his father. Upon ascending to the throne following Hassan’s death, Mohammed initially introduced several reforms and changed the family code to grant more rights to women in Morocco.
In 2011, protests in Morocco that were considered part of the wider Arab Spring occurred against alleged government corruption. In response, Mohammed enacted several reforms and introduced a new constitution. These reforms were passed by public referendum on 1 July 2011. His other reforms have included modernising the economy and military force of Morocco, promoting non-sectarian Islam and Berber culture, including designating Standard Moroccan Amazigh as an official national language alongside Standard Arabic and Yennayer (the Amazigh New Year) as a national holiday, and curtailing the influence of religious extremism.
In foreign policy, Mohammed continued in the moderate tradition established by his father, who was held to…