Muhammad VI (king of Morocco)

Muhammad VI 1963-, king of Morocco (1999-), formerly Muhammad ben Al-Hassan, crown prince Sidi Muhammad. He studied at Muhammad V Univ., Rabat, where he received bachelor's (1985) and master's (1988) degrees in law, and at the Univ. of Nice, France, where he obtained (1993) his doctorate in law. In the 1990s, as the health of his father King Hassan II declined, the crown price assumed a greater role in the government. In 1994 he was promoted to general and became coordinator of the Royal Armed Forces, and in 1998 he initiated a wide-ranging antipoverty program. When Hassan died in 1999, the crown price succeeded him as Muhammad VI. He has worked toward various social and economic improvements and has established a reputation as a generally moderate monarch.

Mohammed VI (b. 21 August 1963), King of Morocco, 1999–  Born in Rabat, he went to the Royal College before obtaining a degree in the political sciences and law at the University of Rabat. He went to Europe and served for a few months at the European Commission in Brussels. In 1984 he was officially proclaimed the heir to his father, Hassan II, and in 1985 he was put in charge of coordinating the Moroccan armed forces. In 1994, he was awarded the rank of general in the army. Mohammed VI has been more liberal than his father, and he was equally keen on good relations with the EU. However, he remained insistent on keeping Morocco's stake in Mauretania.