Portrait Profile

Moroccan Nizar Baraka, Finance Minister of the Year 2013

After he had been elected best Finance Minister for the MENA region for 2012 and Minister of Finance of the year 2012 by the «The Banker», a magazine of the Financial Times press group, Morocco’s former Minister of Economy and Finance, Nizar Baraka, earned another consecration in 2013, this time from the World Bank and […]

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Souad Mekhennet: a talented new columnist for Newsweek

Souad Mekhennet. The name sounds alien for English-speaking readers but not like the many foreign names that pop up if you Google USA-based journalists. It does not sound Irish, Russian, Polish, Korean nor Japanese. The surname is very familiar in the Arab world and the name is easily pronounced in the Middle East. The name […]

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Can Issad Rebrab be a Presidential Hopeful in Algerian Coming Elections?

Back in 2012, Issad Rebrab was listed as a potential candidate to Algeria’s presidential elections initially scheduled for April 2014 and press reports had then said that the man had already set up a campaign team made up of former cabinet members, businessmen and media figures. Last week, after President Abdelaziz Bouteflika suffered a stroke […]

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A Man with Technical Skills, Social Competence Named Morocco’s Ambassador to Paris

Chakib Benmoussa, a brilliant businessman, skilled technician and smart politician has been appointed Morocco’s ambassador to Paris, a position that remained vacant since October 2011. The former Minister of the Interior will also represent the North African Country to Andorra and Monaco. The rumour about his appointment to the position has been circulating for months […]

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The OCP Revolution or Mustapha Terrab’s Success Story

L’Office Chérifien des Phosphates or OCP, the Moroccan State-owned phosphates company, “has come a long way since its founding in 1920. We are proud of this long history, and we look confidently into the future. First of all, at the national level, we are proud of our contributions to the wealth and the well-being of […]

Portrait Profile

Othman Benjelloun Elected Vice-President of Union of Arab Banks

President of the Moroccan banks Professional Grouping (GPBM) and chairman & CEO of BMCE Bank, Othman Benjelloun, was recently elected vice-president of the Union of Arab Banks (UAB). The election took place during the Annual Arab Banking Conference held in Beirut, Lebanon, November 16-17 under the topic: Economic Stability at a Time of Uncertainty. Another […]

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Libya: A Human Rights Activist Elected Prime Minister

Ali Zeidan, a human rights lawyer and activist, was elected by the 200-strong Libyan General Congress as Interim Prime Minister for a transitional period of about 18 months. Ali Zeidan, who was supported by the Liberal block within the Libyan Congress led by the National Forces Alliance of Mahmoud Jibril, won 93 votes while his […]

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Ismail Serageldin, an enlightened scholar brought to court

Ismail Serageldin, the director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, is being sued for squandering public funds after library staff accused him of abuse of power claiming he unfairly appointed advisors and gave them huge salaries. He was also accused of embezzling donations destined to the library and illegally transferring them to a bank account controlled by […]

Portrait Profile

Hamid Chabat: from union activist to leader of Morocco’s Istiqlal

Hamid Chabat, a former factory worker and mechanic , has been elected Secretary General of the Istiqlal party, one of the most powerful political parties in Morocco. Nothing  predestined this man, who started his career at the bottom of the ladder, to this spectacular rise except his boundless ambition that he started to kindle since […]