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Prince Moulay Rachid of Morocco

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Prince Moulay Rachid
Moulay Rachid in 2019
Born (1970-06-20) 20 June 1970 (age 53)
Rabat, Morocco
Spouse
Lalla Oum Kalthum Boufarès
(m. 2014)
IssuePrince Moulay Ahmed
Prince Moulay Abdeslam
Names
Rachid El Alaoui
DynastyAlaouite
FatherHassan II
MotherPrincess Lalla Latifa
ReligionIslam

Prince Moulay Rachid of Morocco (Arabic: الأمير مولاي رشيد بن الحسن; born 20 June 1970) is a member of the Alawi dynasty and the younger brother of King Mohammed VI. He holds a doctorate in international politics. He is currently second in the line of succession to the Moroccan throne.

Early life and education[edit]

Prince Moulay Rachid and then-Crown Prince Sidi Mohammed in 1993.

Prince Moulay Rachid is the fifth and youngest child of the late King Hassan II and his wife, Lalla Latifa Amahzoune. He has four older siblings: Princess Lalla Meryem, King Mohammed VI (formerly Crown Prince Sidi Mohammed), Princess Lalla Asma and Princess Lalla Hasna.

After primary and secondary studies at the Royal College in Rabat and obtaining his Baccalauréat in June 1989, he entered Mohammed V University in Rabat to start his higher studies in law. In May 1993, Prince Moulay Rachid obtained his Bachelor of Law (LL.B.) majoring in economic and social law. That same year he received his License to Practice Law – Public Law. In 1994, he was promoted to the rank of senior colonel of the Royal Navy.[1]

On 29 June 1995, he completed his graduate studies and received a Master of Law (LL.M.) in Political Science. The Bosnian question was the subject of his research and the thesis that he presented and supported publicly. In order to complete his training for his postgraduate education, in November 1993, the Prince started an internship with the United Nations in New York. On 21 June 1996, he successfully completed the written and oral tests for his postgraduate education and received a postgraduate Degree in International Relations. In July 2000, he received the rank of brigadier general of the Royal Navy.[2] On 18 May 2001, he presented his doctorate thesis on the Organisation of the Islamic Conference at the Université Montesquieu-Bordeaux IV, which merited a specific mention for the quality of his work.[2]

Public life[edit]

Prince Moulay Rachid at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference.

In 1999, Moulay Rachid became crown prince following the accession of his brother King Mohammed VI to the throne, and remained as such until the birth of his nephew Moulay Hassan in 2003. He is currently second in line to the throne.

Moulay Rachid occasionally serves Morocco as a diplomat, representing his brother Mohammed at foreign engagements. On 22 October 2019, he attended the enthronement ceremony of Emperor Naruhito of Japan.[3] On 19 September 2022, Rachid attended the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.[4][5]

On 7 November 2022, Rachid attended the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference that took place in Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt.[6][7][8]

On 20 December 2022, Moulay Rachid, along with King Mohammed VI and Crown Prince Moulay Hassan, received the members of the Moroccan national football team at the Royal Palace in Rabat, after their brilliant performance in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[9][10][11]

Fouad Mourtada controversy[edit]

On 5 February 2008, Fouad Mourtada was arrested on suspicion of stealing the identity of Moulay Rachid by creating a fake profile on Facebook as a joke. Although the prince did not seek to press charges, on 23 February, Fouad Mourtada was sentenced to three years in jail and fined 10,000 dirhams (~US$1,350).[12] After local protests and international criticism, Fouad Mourtada was granted a royal pardon on 19 March 2008 just days before an appeal hearing.[13][14]

Personal life[edit]

On 15 June 2014, he married his second cousin Oum Kalthum Boufarès, who is daughter of Moulay El Mamoun Boufarès, former Minister of Interior, and paternal granddaughter of Lalla Khadija (a sister of Mohammed V).[15] Their wedding was celebrated in November at the Dar al-Makhzen in Rabat.[16] His wife, henceforth Lalla Oum Kalthum, was granted by King Mohammed VI the title of Princess and the status of Royal Highness on 8 June 2017.[17][18] They have two sons: Prince Moulay Ahmed (born 23 June 2016)[19] and Prince Moulay Abdeslam (born (2022-06-01)1 June 2022).[20]

In October 2022, he tested positive for COVID-19 and subsequently missed the state opening of parliament for that year.[21]

Honours[edit]

National honours[edit]

Foreign honours[edit]

Ancestry[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Frégate marocaine. Transfert princier". Le Télégramme (in French). 31 January 2014. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Le peuple marocain célèbre ce mercredi le 42è anniversaire de SAR le Prince Moulay Rachid". Maghress. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  3. ^ "HRH Prince Moulay Rachid Represents HM the King at Enthronement of Japan's New Emperor | MapNews". Maghreb Arabe Presse. 22 October 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  4. ^ "Arab leaders present at Queen Elizabeth's funeral". HESPRESS English - Morocco News. 19 September 2022. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  5. ^ "HRH Prince Moulay Rachid Arrives in London to Represent HM the King at Queen Elizabeth II's State Funeral". Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  6. ^ "الأمير مولاي رشيد يمثل الملك في "كوب 27"". Hespress - هسبريس جريدة إلكترونية مغربية (in Arabic). 7 November 2022. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  7. ^ Release, Africa Press. "His Royal Highness Prince Moulay Rachid Represents His Majesty the King at 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 27) in Sharm El-Sheikh". www.zawya.com. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  8. ^ "COP-27: Prince Moulay Rachid Represents Morocco's King at Climate Summit – The North Africa Post". Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  9. ^ "King receives members of national soccer team, decorates them with Royal wissams". HESPRESS English - Morocco News. 20 December 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  10. ^ Zouiten, Sara. "King Mohammed VI Awards Atlas Lions with Wissams at Royal Reception". moroccoworldnews. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  11. ^ Nicolas Beau et Catherine Graciet (2007). Quand le Maroc sera islamiste (PDF) (in French). Editions La Découverte. ISBN 978-2-7071-5286-2.
  12. ^ "Jail for Facebook spoof Moroccan". BBC News. 23 February 2008. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  13. ^ Morocco 'Facebook prince' pardon, BBC News, 19 March 2008. Retrieved 5 July 2008.
  14. ^ Royal pardon for Internet user, condemned to three years of jail for creating spoof Facebook for prince, Reporters Without Borders, 19 March 2008. Retrieved 5 July 2008. Archived 3 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ "El príncipe Moulay Rachid, hermano de Mohamed VI, se compromete con Oum Keltoum Boufarès". HOLA USA (in European Spanish). 16 June 2014. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  16. ^ Staff writer. "In Pictures: Second Day of Prince Moulay Rachid's Wedding". moroccoworldnews. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  17. ^ MAP (14 June 2017). "L'épouse du président français et LL.AA.RR. les Princesses Lalla Salma et Lalla Oum Kaltoum visitent l'exposition 'Face à Picasso'". Le Matin.ma (in French). TRH Princesses Lalla Salma and Lalla Oum Kaltoum visited the "Face à Picasso" exhibition on Wednesday in Rabat
  18. ^ "Lalla Oum Keltoum est désormais Altesse royale". bladinet (in French). 9 June 2017.
  19. ^ "Palais Royal: le Prince Moulay Ahmed, fils du Prince Moulay Rachid est né". Medi1 News (in French). 23 June 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  20. ^ Islah, Fadwa (2 June 2022). "Maroc : naissance de Moulay Abdeslam, fils du prince Moulay Rachid". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  21. ^ Benazizi, Aya. "Prince Moulay Rachid Tests Positive for COVID". Morocco world news. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  22. ^ https://www.gettyimages.pt/detail/fotografia-de-not%C3%ADcias/margrethe-ii-du-danemark-et-hassan-ii-lors-dun-fotografia-de-not%C3%ADcias/948296280
  23. ^ web, Segretariato generale della Presidenza della Repubblica-Servizio sistemi informatici- reparto. "Le onorificenze della Repubblica Italiana". Quirinale (in Italian). Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  24. ^ "Estrangeiros com Ordens Portuguesas".
  25. ^ "Estrangeiros com Ordens Portuguesas".
  26. ^ Boletín Oficial del Estado
  27. ^ "Visite officielle de SM le Roi en Tunisie". 2014.

External links[edit]

Royal titles
Preceded by Line of succession to the Moroccan throne
Second in line
Next:
Prince Moulay Ahmed