King of Morocco

King Mohammed Ben Al-Hassan, King of Morocco

King Mohammed Ben Al-Hassan was born in Rabat on Wednesday, August 21, 1963.

At the age of four, the Late King Hassan II enrolled him at the Quranic school at the Royal Palace. On June 28, 1973, King Mohammed Ben Al-Hassan, then Crown Prince, successfully obtained the primary education certificate and continued secondary studies at the Royal College, where he got his Baccalaureate in 1981.

In 1985, King Mohammed Ben Al-Hassan obtained his B.A in law at the college of law of the Rabat Mohammed V University. He conducted his research project on “the Arab-African Union and the Strategy of the Kingdom of Morocco in matters of International Relations.”

In 1987, he obtained his first higher education degree in political sciences, and in July 1988, King Mohammed Ben Al-Hassan passed the first exams for a doctoral degree.

In order to complete his training, he underwent as of November 1988 a few-month training in Brussels with Jacques Delors, then President of the European Commission.

On October 29, 1993, he won the title of Doctor in law at the French University of Nice-Sophia Antipolis with “Very Honorable” distinction and the congratulations of the jury, for his thesis on “EEC-Maghreb Relations.”

Trained to the heavy tasks since his young age, King Mohammed Ben Al-Hassan was often entrusted by his father with numerous missions at various national, Arab, Islamic, African and International levels. He also participated in several international and regional conferences.

King Mohammed’s first official mission abroad was in April 1974, when he represented the Late King Hassan II at the religious ceremony celebrated at the “Notre Dame de Paris” Cathedral in the memory of French President Georges Pompidou.

On December 27, 1979, King Mohammed was made honorary president of the Socio-cultural Association of the Mediterranean Basin.

In July 1980, King Mohammed toured several African countries, with messages from his late father, King Hassan II, to Presidents Leopold Sedar Senghor of Senegal, Ahmed Sekou Toure of Guinea, Felix Houphouet Boigny of Cote D’Ivoire, Ahmadou Ahidjo of Cameroon and Shehu Shagari of Nigeria.

On March 18, 1982, he was appointed by the Late King Hassan II President of the Organizing Committee of the 9th Mediterranean games, held in Casablanca in 1983.

On March 10, 1983, King Mohammed Ben Al-Hassan chaired the Moroccan delegation to the 7th summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in New Delhi, India. During the conference, he made a key speech wherein he recalled Morocco’s positions regarding various Arab, African and international issues.

On September 21, 1983, he chaired a delegation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) on the Sahara in Addis Ababa. On October 3 of the same year, he headed the Moroccan delegation to the 10th Franco-African conference in Vittel, France.

On April 11, 1985, King Mohammed Ben Al-Hassan was appointed by the Late King Hassan II, Coordinator of the Bureaux and Services of the General staff of the Royal Armed Forces, a task worthy of a Prince who successfully carried out the various responsibilities entrusted to him.

King Mohammed Ben Al-Hassan paid an official visit to Saudi Arabia in March 1986 and to Japan in March 1987.

On February 23, 1989, he represented the Late King Hassan II in the funerals of Emperor Hiro Hito of Japan.

On July 12, 1994, Mohammed Ben Al-Hassan was promoted to the rank of General de Division.