Country name:
conventional long form: Kingdom of Morocco
conventional short form:
Morocco
local long form:
Al Mamlakah al Maghribiyah
local short form:
Al Maghrib
Government type:
constitutional monarchy
Capital:
name: Rabat
geographic coordinates:
34 01 N, 6 49 W
time difference:
UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time:
+1 hr, begins last Sunday in April; ends last Sunday in September
Administrative divisions:
15 regions; Grand Casablanca, Chaouia-Ouardigha, Doukkala-Abda, Fes-Boulemane, Gharb-Chrarda-Beni Hssen, Guelmim-Es Smara, Laayoune-Boujdour-Sakia El Hamra, Marrakech-Tensift-Al Haouz, Meknes-Tafilalet, Oriental, Rabat-Sale-Zemmour-Zaer, Souss-Massa-Draa, Tadla-Azilal, Tanger-Tetouan, Taza-Al Hoceima-Taounate
note:
Morocco claims the territory of Western Sahara, the political status of which is considered undetermined by the US Government; portions of the regions Guelmim-Es Smara and Laayoune-Boujdour-Sakia El Hamra as claimed by Morocco lie within Western Sahara; Morocco also claims Oued Eddahab-Lagouira, another region that falls entirely within Western Sahara
Independence:
2 March 1956 (from France)
National holiday:
Throne Day (accession of King MOHAMMED VI to the throne), 30 July (1999)
Constitution:
several previous; latest drafted 17 June 2011, approved by referendum 1 July 2011; note - sources disagree on whether the 2011 referendum was for a new constitution or for reforms to the previous constitution (2011)
Legal system:
mixed legal system of civil law based on French law and Islamic law; judicial review of legislative acts by Supreme Court
International law organization participation:
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]
Executive branch:
chief of state: King MOHAMMED VI (since 30 July 1999)
head of government:
Prime Minister Abdelillah BENKIRANE (since 29 November 2011)
cabinet:
Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister as well as Minister Delegates to each ministry appoined by the Palace
elections:
the monarchy is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch following legislative elections
Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament consists of the Chamber of Counsilors (or upper house) (270 seats - to be reduced to a maximum of 120; members elected indirectly by local councils, professional organizations, and labor syndicates to serve six-year terms; one-third of the members are elected every three years) and Chamber of Representatives (or lower house) (395 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections:
Chamber of Counselors - last held on 3 October 2009 (next to be held in mid-2013); Chamber of Representatives - last held on 25 November 2011 (next to be held in 2016)
election results:
Chamber of Counselors - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; Chamber of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PJD 107, PI 60, RNI 52, PAM 47, USFP 39, MP 32, UC 23, PPS 18, other 17
Judicial branch:
highest court(s): Supreme Court or Court of Cassation (consists of 5-judge panels organized into civil, family matters, commercial, administrative, social, and criminal sections)
judge selection and term of office:
Supreme Court judges appointed by the monarch upon the recommendation of the Supreme Council of the Judiciary
subordinate courts:
courts of appeal; regional and sadad courts (for religious, civil and administrative, and penal adjudication)
Political parties and leaders:
Action Party or PA [Mohammed EL IDRISSI]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Democratic Confederation of Labor or CDT [Noubir AMAOUI]
International organization participation:
ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, CAEU, CD, EBRD, FAO, G-11, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAS, MIGA, MONUSCO, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, OIF, OPCW, OSCE (partner), Paris Club (associate), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNOCI, UNSC (temporary), UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Mohammed Rachad BOUHLAL (since 22 December 2011)
chancery:
1601 21st Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone:
[1] (202) 462-7979
FAX:
[1] (202) 462-7643
consulate(s) general:
New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Matthew LUSSENHOP (since July 2013)
embassy:
2 Avenue de Mohamed El Fassi, Rabat
mailing address:
Unit 9400, Box 021, DPO AE 09718
telephone:
[212] (537) 76 22 65
FAX:
[212] (537) 76 56 61
consulate(s) general:
Casablanca
Flag description:
red with a green pentacle (five-pointed, linear star) known as Sulayman's (Solomon's) seal in the center of the flag; red and green are traditional colors in Arab flags, although the use of red is more commonly associated with the Arab states of the Persian gulf; the pentacle represents the five pillars of Islam and signifies the association between God and the nation; design dates to 1912
National symbol(s):
pentacle symbol; lion
National anthem:
name: "Hymne Cherifien" (Hymn of the Sharif)
lyrics/music: Ali Squalli HOUSSAINI/Leo MORGAN
note: music adopted 1956, lyrics adopted 1970
NOTE: 1) The information regarding Morocco on this page is re-published from the 2014 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Morocco Government 2014 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Morocco Government 2014 should be addressed to the CIA.
2) The rank that you see is the CIA reported rank, which may habe the following issues:
a) They assign increasing rank number, alphabetically for countries with the same value of the ranked item, whereas we assign them the same rank.
b) The CIA sometimes assignes counterintuitive ranks. For example, it assigns unemployment rates in increasing order, whereas we rank them in decreasing order
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This page was last modified 06-Nov-14