Casablanca – King Mohammed VI appointed Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid to the new government today, keeping him in the cabinet as minister of Youth, Culture and Sports. The ceremony took place at the Royal Palace in Rabat, where the new government, led by Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri, took its oaths.
Bensaid is among the ministers retained from the previous government, but the title of his portfolio has changed. His former department covered youth, culture, and communication, while the new cabinet names sports alongside youth and culture.
The government’s list also names Salah Eddine Abkari as minister-delegate in charge of youth. The appointment comes after Bensaid spent five years overseeing a department that dealt with youth programs, cultural policy and the media sector. His record includes nationwide youth services, cultural heritage projects and contested changes to the rules governing the press.
From youth activism to Parliament
Born in Rabat on October 26, 1984, Bensaid is 41 and will turn 42 later this month. He studied political science and international relations at the Institute of Political Studies in Toulouse and also studied law at the University of Toulouse.
He later earned a master’s degree in African affairs from Sciences Po Paris and another in international relations from the Institute of International and Strategic Relations in Paris.
Before becoming a minister, Bensaid worked across business, film production, and sports. He helped establish the film production company Entourage Production and the company NEO MOTOS, and managed the Yacoub El Mansour sports team in Rabat.
He also founded the Circle of Young Moroccan Democrats, a youth organization through which Morocco entered the Guinness World Records after the display of what the ministry describes as the world’s largest flag in Dakhla.
A member of the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), his parliamentary career began after the 2011 legislative elections, when he was elected to the House of Representatives. In 2014, he became president of the commission responsible for foreign affairs, national defense, Islamic affairs, and Moroccans living abroad, holding the role until 2016.
The ministry says he was the youngest lawmaker to lead that commission. He later joined the political bureau of the Authenticity and Modernity Party, known as PAM, and won a seat for the Rabat-Ocean constituency in the September 8, 2021 elections. King Mohammed VI appointed him minister on October 7 that year.
Programs, cultural policy and pressure on the media
One of the ministry’s most visible youth initiatives has been Pass Jeunes. The free application was expanded nationwide in January 2025 after an earlier rollout in the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra region. It targets Moroccans aged 16 to 30 and offers discounts, free services and other benefits covering culture, sports, transport and accommodation.
The ministry’s plans for 2026 also included renovating and equipping youth facilities, continuing work on holiday camps and expanding programs tied to training, self-employment and entrepreneurship.
Bensaid’s cultural agenda has included heritage protection, support for creative industries, and efforts to broaden access to cultural facilities. The ministry has said it would continue the restoration of the archaeological site of Sijilmassa, with a budget of 141 million dirhams, alongside work to promote Moroccan cultural heritage and strengthen cultural diplomacy.
The ministry has also backed the country’s gaming industry, including Morocco’s participation at Gamescom 2026 with 11 local game studios. The May edition of Morocco Gaming Expo drew more than 80,000 visitors, 100 Moroccan exhibitors and 48 international investors, according to the ministry.
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His previous responsibility for communication also put him at the center of debates about press policy. In 2025, Bensaid presented a bill to reorganize the National Press Council, saying it was intended to reinforce professional self-regulation.
The proposal drew criticism from opposition lawmakers, who said the draft did not provide enough guarantees to protect gains in freedom of expression and raised concerns about the balance between the council and government oversight. Bensaid defended the text as part of an effort to create a stable legal framework for journalism.
In February 2026, he announced a revised formula for public support to press companies and said around MAD 30 million had been allocated for journalists’ moral rights over their work. The announcement formed part of his department’s wider efforts to address the economic situation of the press sector and the rights of media professionals.
Bensaid remains in charge of youth and culture, while sports now appears alongside them in the portfolio’s title. The new cabinet also names Abkari as minister-delegate for youth, marking a change in the official structure of the ministry as Bensaid begins another term in government.
