Prince Moulay Rachid of Morocco
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| Prince Moulay Rachid of Morocco | |
| Prince of Morocco | |
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| Full name | Moulay Rachid |
| Born | June 20, 1970 |
| Birthplace | Rabat, Morocco |
| Royal House | Morocco |
| Father | Hassan II |
| Mother | Lalla Latifa Hammou |
His Royal Highness Prince Moulay Rachid of Morocco, also known as Prince Moulay Rachid ben al-Hassan (Arabic: الأمير مولي رشيد بن الحسن) was born on June 20, 1970 in Rabat as the youngest child of the late King Hassan II. He holds a doctorate in international politics and serves Morocco as diplomat.
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[edit] Early life and Education
After primary and secondary studies at the Royal College in Rabat and obtaining the Baccalauréat in June 1989, His Royal Highness entered Mohammed V University in Rabat to start his higher studies in Law. In May 1993, Prince Moulay Rachid obtained his Bachelor of Law (LL.B.) majoring in economic and social law. The same year the Prince received his License to Practice Law - Public Law with the mention “very good”. On June 29, 1995, the Prince completed his graduate Studies and received a Master of Law (LL.M.) in Political Science, with mention “very good”. The Bosnia question was the subject of his research and the thesis that the Prince presented and supported publicly. In order to complete his training for his postgraduate education, in November 1993, the Prince started an internship with the United Nations in New York. On May 18, 2001, the Prince presented his doctorate thesis on the Organization of Islamic Conference at the Université Montesquieu-Bordeaux IV, which merited a specific mention for the quality of his work. On June 21, 1996, the Prince successfully completed the written and oral tests for his post graduate education and received a Post-Graduate Degree in International Relations, with mention “very good”.
In addition to his native language Arabic, the Prince speaks English, French, and Spanish.
[edit] Military Career
In July 1994, Prince Moulay Rachid was promoted to the rank of Colonel in the Royal Moroccan Navy. In July 2000, Prince Moulay Rachid was promoted to the rank of brigadier general.
[edit] National, Regional and International initiatives
Since his early youth, Prince Moulay Rachid built diplomatic relations and promoted peace all over the world. At age of 6, the Prince accompanied his father King Hassan II on an official visit to the United States and at age of 11, His Royal Highness went for first time on sole official state visits to Spain and later the same year to Tunisia.
Since his youth, Prince Moulay Rachid has been interested in cultural, social and sporting activities that earned him the reputation of a strong advocate and acknowledged pioneer of cross-cultural exchange and a strong leader for dialog among civilizations. The Prince also oversees the work of numerous sports organizations.
[edit] Prince Moualy Rachid is the president of:
Since April 1997, the Prince has been president of the National Federation of Moroccan Scouting.
The Prince is big lover of golf and has represented Morocco professionally. In 2000, Prince Moulay Rachid founded the Hassan II Golf Trophy Association, which is hosting the highly regarded Hassan II Golf Trophy.
In 2001 Prince Moulay Rachid initiated the Marrakech International Film Festival Foundation (MIFFF) that has opened doors for cinema in Morocco – Marrakech International Film Festival.
The Prince is also a president of the Royal Moroccan Federation for Hunting Shotgun Shooting.
[edit] Prince Moualy Rachid is also the honorary president of:
- Grand Heart Association (2006)
- Moroccan Falconers Association Al-Noubala (2007)
- Royal Moroccan Yachting Federation
- Royal Moroccan Skiing and Mountaineering Federation
- Moroccan Environmental Protection Association, Moroccan - Far East Association
- Spanish Social Service Association, Maghreb Association for Research and the Fight Against AIDS
- Moroccan Association of Law Students in France.
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[edit] Support for the enthronement of Prince Moulay Rachid
In 1999, after the death of his father and the enthronement of his older brother King Mohammed VI, the prince became crown prince, but in 2002 his brother conferred this position to his own newborn son Moulay Hassan. The Prince is now a second in line to the Alaouite throne.
In 1999, many Moroccan and international governments and analysts argued that Prince Moulay Rachid is better suited for the job of the king than his brother Mohammed VI. They expressed their concern that Mohammed VI might not have adequate expertise to deal with the Islamists.
In their 2006 book, "Quand le Maroc sera islamiste", Nicolas Beau and Catherine Graciet warned that Islamists are on rise in Morocco due to severe poverty, corruption, and unemployment. The authors claim that the kingdom will need a revolutionary change in royal succession and encourage the suitable Prince Moulay Rachid to become king, or Morocco could face the brutal introduction of an Islamist republic. [1]
[edit] Family
HRH Prince Moulay Rachid is the second son and the fifth child of King Hassan II and his wife, Lalla Latifa Hammou from an important Berber family. HRH Prince Moulay Rachid has one older brother King Mohammed VI and three sisters Princess Lalla Meryem, Princess Lalla Asma and Princess Lalla Hasna.
[edit] The Fouad Mourtada controversy
On Tuesday, February 5th, 2008, Fouad Mourtada was arrested on suspicion of stealing the identity of Prince Moulay Rachid and creating a false profile on Facebook. Although Prince Moulay Rachid did not sue him, Mohammed VI used his power of 'supreme representative of the nation' to arrest and prosecute Fouad Mourtada. On February 23rd, Fouad Mourtada was sentenced to 3 years in jail and fined 10,000 dirhams (~1,350 US Dollars). After local protests and international criticism, Fouad Mourtada was granted a royal pardon on March 19th, just days before an appeal hearing. The move has brought criticism by human right watchers against Mohammed VI's use of his power to overrule fair process of the law.[2][3]
[edit] References
- ^ Nicolas Beau et Catherine Graciet. "Quand le Maroc sera islamiste" (in French). Editions La Découverte. http://www.editionsladecouverte.fr/liens/ps/d04452_intro.pdf.
- ^ Morocco 'Facebook prince' pardon, BBC News, March 19, 2008. Accessed July 5, 2008.
- ^ Royal pardon for Internet user, condemned to three years of jail for creating spoof Facebook for prince, Reporters Without Borders, March 19, 2008. Accessed July 5, 2008.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by HRH The Crown Prince |
Line of succession to the Moroccan Throne | Succeeded by Prince Moulay Hicham of Morocco |
