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Doha – In a ceremony held at the Royal Palace in Rabat on Friday, King Mohammed VI appointed Chakib Benmoussa as the country’s new High Commissioner for Planning, replacing Ahmed Lahlimi Alami.
During the same audience, the King decorated the outgoing Lahlimi Alami with the Grand Cordon of the Wissam Al Arch in recognition of his years of dedicated service leading the institution.
Benmoussa, born in Fez in 1958, brings an extensive background to the role. He holds engineering degrees from École Polytechnique and École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées in Paris, as well as a Master of Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
His diverse career has included positions in government, the private sector, and diplomacy.
Most recently, Benmoussa has served as Minister of National Education, Preschool and Sports since September 2021. From 2006 to 2010, he served as Minister of the Interior.
In 2011, he was appointed by the King as President of the Economic and Social Council.
He also served as Ambassador of Morocco to France and Monaco from 2013 to 2021.
In November 2019, the King tasked Benmoussa with presiding over the Special Commission on the Development Model.
Throughout his career, Benmoussa has held several other high-profile positions, including Secretary General of the Ministry of the Interior from 2002 to 2006, and member of the executive committee of the ONA Group since 2000.
He has also been a member of the Bureau of the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises (CGEM), the Ministerial Committee for Education and Training, and the Permanent Support Committee of the Mohammed V Foundation.
Lahlimi Alami, who Benmoussa is succeeding, had headed the High Commission for Planning since 2003.
Known for his frank and often critical economic assessments, the 85-year-old Lahlimi Alami has been a prominent figure in Moroccan public life.
A longtime member of the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP) party, he was a key ally of former Prime Minister Abderrahmane Youssoufi.
Benmoussa’s appointment comes as the HCP recently concluded the 2024 General Population and Housing Census, which saw strong public engagement.
The collected data has been securely centralized and digitized at the HCP’s dedicated data management center, where processing has already begun.
In August, Lahlimi Alami had pointed out the importance of nationwide mobilization for the success of the census, noting its vital role as a key reference index designed to provide valuable insights into Morocco’s growth potential.
