Othman El Ferdaous and Said Amzazi will take over the duties of Hassan Abyaba, who served as the minister of culture and as the government spokesperson since October 2019.
Rabat – King Mohammed VI appointed the new Minister of Youth, Sports, and Culture, Othman El Ferdaous, and the new government spokesperson, Said Amzazi, today, April 7. El Ferdaous and Amzazi are assuming the duties of Hassan Abyaba.
El Ferdaous is a public affairs and strategic communication professional. In April 2017, the King appointed El Ferdaous as secretary of state in charge of investment at the Ministry of Industry, Investment, Trade, and Digital Economy.
The new minister obtained a Master’s degree in journalism from the Paris Institute of Political Studies, as well as an Executive Master’s from the National School of Administration in Rabat.
He also completed a Postgraduate Course of European Studies and graduated from the ESC Nantes-Atlantique Business School in France.
Born on April 5, 1979, El Ferdaous began his professional career as an auditor at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Paris from 2003 to 2006. He held the position of Director Special Advisor at Mena Media Consulting in Rabat between 2008 and 2016 and became Manager of Europa Conseil in Casablanca in July 2016.
El Ferdaous served as secretary-general of Sciences Po Alumni Morocco between 2012 and 2016. Since January 2017, he has been president of clubgibraltar.org, a think tank dedicated to promoting the anchoring of the Maghreb in the European project.
During his tenure as secretary of state at the Ministry of Industry, El Ferdaous launched several initiatives to support small entrepreneurs and businesses.
He launched the hashtag #Fikrainvest on August 4, 2017, calling on Moroccans to submit ideas that would help reform the investment charter of 1995.
The hashtag aimed to encourage citizens to take an active part in decision-making regarding investment reforms in response to King Mohammed VI’s call for greater communication with the public.
Amzazi’s second portfolio
The King also received Minister of Education Said Amzazi and Head of Government Saad Eddine El Othmani at the palace in Casablanca.
During the royal audience, King Mohammed VI appointed Amzazi as the new spokesperson for the government, taking over the position from Abyaba.
Amzazi has been serving as the Minister of Education since January 22, 2018.
Amzazi is a member of Morocco’s Popular Movement. He has devoted most of his professional life to teaching initiatives and research, and he has held a number of different positions during his career.
Since 2015, he served as Vice President of Majliss Al Umanaa of Abu Dhabi’s University of Mohammed V and as President of Rabat’s Mohammed V University until his appointment as Morocco’s Minister of Education.
Born in 1962 in Sefrou, near Fez, Amzazi was also Dean of Rabat’s Faculty of Sciences between 2011 and 2014. He also was in charge of academic and educational affairs at the same university.
