King Mohammed VI of Morocco appoints billionaire Aziz Akhannouch as head of government

King Mohammed VI of Morocco has appointed billionaire Aziz Akhannouch of the National Rally of Moroccan Independents (RNI) as the head of government and asked him to form a cabinet, according to state media.

The report by MAP, Morrocco’s state news agency, came today after the liberal RNI political party emerged as the biggest political party in Morocco’s parliamentary election, taking 102 of 395 seats. The Justice and Development Party, the former largest party, suffered a devastating defeat, taking only 13 seats.

In 2011, Morocco introduced reforms that allow the king to choose the prime minister from the largest party in parliament, while retaining veto power over cabinet ministers.

Akhannouch, 60, declared the results “a victory for democracy, its spirit and its rules.”

Akhannouch is the majority owner of Akwa Group, one of Morocco’s largest conglomerates. The company was founded by his father and a partner, Ahmed Wakrim, in 1932, and is involved in petroleum, gas and chemicals.

Akhannouch is also Morocco’s agriculture minister and the president of the RNI. He has a fortune Forbes estimates at $2 billion.