Mbarka Bouaida (born 1975) is a Moroccan politician who served as Minister-Delegate of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation in the Benkirane government. In July 2019, she was elected president of the southeast region Guelmim-Oued Noun, the first woman elected as a Moroccan regional leader.

Mbarka Bouaida

Early life and education

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Bouaida was born in 1975 in Laqssabi near Guelmim.[1] She is of Sahrawi origin, of the Aït Lahcen tribe, part of the Tekna confederation.[2]

Bouaida has a degree from the Graduate School of Management in Casablanca, and MBA from the University of Hull and a Masters in Communication from the University of Toulouse.[1][3]

Career

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Bouaida was Director of Audit and Management Control for the Petrom Group from 2003.

Bouaida is a member of the National Rally of Independents and was elected under the women's quota to the House of Representatives to represent Anfa in 2007, making her the parliament's youngest member.[1][2] She chaired the Committee of Foreign Affairs and the National Defence and Religious Affairs and was in charge of relations between the Moroccan and European Parliaments.[4] In June 2009, she was also elected to the city council of Greater Casablanca.[1]

Bouaida was elected to a second parliamentary term outside the women's quota in 2010.[5] She was appointed Minister-Delegate for Foreign Affairs by King Mohammed VI on 10 October 2013.[3] From 2017, she served as Secretary of State to the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries.[6]

Bouaida has been Vice-President of the International Parliamentarian Forum for Democracy since September 2011 and is a Member of the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe. She is also the General Secretary of the Moustaqbal Association for Education.[4] She was named "Young Global Leader" by the World Economic Forum in 2012.[3] She also represents Morocco in the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly.[2] In 2015, she led Morocco's delegation to the White House Summit on Countering Extreme Violence led by Joe Biden.[7]

On 5 July 2019, Bouaida was elected regional leader of Guelmim-Oued Noun, the first woman in the country elected as a regional leader.[6]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Biographie de Mbarka Bouaida, ministre déléguée auprès du ministre des Affaires étrangères et de la Coopération" (PDF) (in French).
  2. ^ a b c "Mme. Mbarka Bouaida" (PDF).
  3. ^ a b c Bennis, Adnane (10 October 2013). "Profile of the New Moroccan Minister Delegate to the Minister of Foreign Affairs". Morocco World News. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  4. ^ a b "Mbarka Bouaida". World Economic Forum.
  5. ^ "Mbarka Bouaida on Women's Rights and Role in Politics in Morocco". Women's Learning Partnership. 18 October 2010. Archived from the original on 21 November 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  6. ^ a b Chechik, Sonhya (9 July 2019). "Mbarka Bouaida Wins 'Historic' Election as First Woman to Lead Moroccan Region". Morocco World News. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  7. ^ "Minister Delegate of Foreign Affairs Mbarka Bouaida Leads Moroccan Delegation to White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism". 2019-04-21. Archived from the original on 21 April 2019. Retrieved 2022-04-30.
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