Abderrahmane Youssoufi

Abderrahmane Youssoufi
Prime Minister of Morocco
In office 4 February 1998 – 9 October 2002
Monarch	Hassan II Mohammed VI
Preceded by	Abdellatif Filali
Succeeded by	Driss Jettou
Personal details
Born	(1924-03-08) 8 March 1924 Tangier, Morocco
Political party	Socialist Union of Popular Forces
Religion	Islam

Abderrahmane Youssoufi (ahb-dehr-RAH-mahn-ehl YOO-soo-fee (); Arabic: عبد الرحمن اليوسفي‎‎; born 8 March 1924) is a Moroccan politician who served as the Prime Minister of Morocco from 1998 to 2002. He was a human rights lawyer.

Early life and education

Born in Tangier, Youssoufi was a socialist from a young age, dedicating himself to organizing the working class of Casablanca as early as 1944. In 1949 Youssoufi began also to fight for the rights of emigrant Moroccan workers in France. He also studied law, practicing in Tangier from 1952 to 1960.

Political career

In 1959 Youssoufi joined the National Union of Popular Forces, a left-wing political party. He was arrested for his involvement in 1959 and again in 1963, the latter arrest leading to a prison sentence of two years. Following his release, Youssoufi went into self-imposed exile in Paris for a period of fifteen years. Later he returned to Morocco. Meanwhile, the National Union of Popular Forces became the Socialist Union of Popular Forces. In 1980 Youssoufi returned to join the new party, becoming the party secretary in 1992 after the death of Bouabid.

Prime Minister

On 4 February 1998 King Hassan II named Youssoufi the Prime Minister of Morocco, a post he held until October 2002. He formed a left-center government. His government provided greater freedoms for the people and media. In 2003, Youssoufi announced his retirement from politics. He began to live in Casablanca after his retirement.

Awards

In 1999 he was one of the two winners of the North-South Prize.

References

• This article is based in part on the corresponding article in the French Wikipedia, accessed 1 October 2005.