Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has appointed Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri as the country’s first woman prime minister, after her Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) emerged as the largest force in the September 23 parliamentary election.

The 50-year-old lawyer, former housing minister and mayor of Marrakech, has been tasked with forming a coalition government. PAM won 97 of 395 seats in the House of Representatives, 31 more than the next-largest party, but short of a majority.

El Mansouri described the appointment as “truly historic”, saying it was a source of pride for all Moroccan women. She is only the second woman to serve as prime minister in the Arab world, after Tunisia’s Najla Bouden.

Under Morocco’s constitutional monarchy, the king appoints the head of government from the party winning the most seats, while retaining sweeping powers over foreign policy and defence. Her government will oversee the final stages of a $20-billion push to prepare for the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which Morocco will co-host with Portugal and Spain.