Marrakech – Abdeljabbar Errachidi has secured a new position in Morocco’s government after King Mohammed VI appointed him Minister Delegate in Charge of Handicrafts and the Solidarity Economy on Friday under the administration of Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri.
The appointment marks a change of responsibilities for the Istiqlal Party politician, who previously served as Secretary of State for Social Integration in former Head of Government Aziz Akhannouch’s cabinet.
Errachidi will now work under Jalal Charaf, the newly appointed Minister of Tourism, Handicrafts, and the Solidarity Economy. His appointment also represents a promotion from secretary of state to minister delegate.
The move follows Istiqlal’s decision to join the new governing coalition led by El Mansouri’s Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), alongside the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP) and the Party of Progress and Socialism (PPS).
Born in 1968 in Tangier, according to a biography published by Istiqlal’s local organization, Errachidi has a professional background spanning public administration, journalism, academia, and party politics.
He obtained his baccalaureate from Ibn Al-Khatib High School in Tangier in 1990 before pursuing legal studies at Mohammed V University in Rabat.
His academic qualifications include a law degree, a postgraduate diploma in media and communication from Rabat’s Higher Institute of Information and Communication (ISIC), and an advanced diploma in public law.
Errachidi also holds a doctorate in public law from Hassan II University in Mohammedia, according to his official biography published by the Ministry of Solidarity and Social Integration.
His professional career began with advisory roles in government departments. Between 1999 and 2000, he served as an adviser to the Minister of Communication, handling media affairs and relations with Parliament. He subsequently worked as an adviser to the Minister of Civil Service and Administrative Reform between 2000 and 2001.
His career also included journalism. From 2001 to 2004, he worked as an accredited correspondent for Saudi television, alongside other professional responsibilities.
Between 2002 and 2007, Errachidi served as an adviser within the department responsible for relations with Parliament.
He later held administrative and communication responsibilities between 2007 and 2024, including work attached to the Head of Government and within the ministry responsible for general affairs and governance.
His academic experience also included teaching international relations as a visiting lecturer at Mohammed V University’s Faculty of Law in Rabat between 2019 and 2020.
Alongside his professional career, Errachidi developed a longstanding involvement in the Istiqlal Party. He participated in student organizations, the Moroccan scouting movement, and the party’s youth structures.
He served on the executive bureau of the National Union of Moroccan Students and held leadership responsibilities within Istiqlal Youth.
Errachidi subsequently became a member of Istiqlal’s executive committee for two terms and held regional coordination responsibilities in Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima.
His position within the party developed further in March 2024, when he was unanimously elected president of the preparatory committee for Istiqlal’s 18th National Congress, held in Bouznika the following April.
On December 7, 2024, he was elected president of Istiqlal’s National Council, succeeding Chiba Maelainin. The council is one of the party’s principal decision-making bodies between national congresses.
His first government appointment came on October 23, 2024, when King Mohammed VI named him Secretary of State in Charge of Social Integration, working under then-Minister of Solidarity, Social Integration, and Family Naima Ben Yahia.
During his tenure, Errachidi worked on policies concerning people with disabilities, inclusive education, social services, and support for vulnerable groups.
In March 2025, he chaired meetings concerning Morocco’s disability identification card and the second National Action Plan for the Promotion of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The proposed action plan addressed accessibility, healthcare, education, employment, and social protection.
In November 2025, Errachidi reported that 5,000 children with disabilities had been integrated into public schools that year, bringing the cumulative number covered by the program to approximately 70,000.
In February this year, he announced that 27,642 children with disabilities had benefited from a school support program implemented through 437 associations.
The program provided MAD 1,200 ($120) in monthly support per child, while its budget increased from MAD 166 million ($1.66 million) in 2021 to MAD 396 million ($39.6 million) in 2025.
His department also worked on support for older people and initiatives assisting young adults leaving social care institutions, including the Raaya program launched in April.
These programs formed part of broader government initiatives involving several institutions rather than measures implemented by Errachidi alone.
More recently, Errachidi participated in Istiqlal’s government formation consultations. On September 30, he joined a party delegation headed by Nizar Baraka for discussions with El Mansouri.
His latest appointment now shifts his responsibilities from social integration to handicrafts and the solidarity economy, placing him in a different sector after nearly two years in government.
The new role also brings together his experience in public administration, social policy, and party leadership as he begins his second government mandate under El Mansouri.
