Mbarek Bekkay

Mbarek Bekkay
Mbarek Bekkay at an official reception ceremony in Tetouan, December 1956.
Prime Minister of Morocco
In office
7 December 1955 – 15 April 1958
MonarchMohammed V
Preceded byMuhammad al-Muqri as Grand Vizier of the Sherifan Empire
Succeeded byAhmed Balafrej
Personal details
Born(1907-04-18)18 April 1907
Berkane, Morocco
Died12 April 1961(1961-04-12) (aged 53)
Rabat, Morocco
Political partyIndependent
Military career
Service/branchMoroccan Division
RankLieutenant colonel
Battles/warsWorld War II

Mbarek Bekkay (Arabic: مبارك البكاي; April 18, 1907[1] in Berkane, Morocco – April 12, 1961)[2][3] was the 1st Prime Minister of Morocco between December 7, 1955, and April 15, 1958.[4] Bekkay held the rank of colonel in the French army.[5] He was the first Prime Ministers of Morocco since its independence from the French protectorate.[6]

Early life

Mbarek Bekkaï was born on April 18, 1907, in Berkane, in the northeast of Morocco. He belonged to the Berber Béni-Snassen tribe.

He attended the Military School of Dar El Beida, the present military academy of Meknes, from which he went out to lieutenant and joined the French army. He served excellently in World War II and rose to lieutenant colonel rank.[7][8]

Career

In 1939, in response to the Sultan's call, he went to France to participate in the World War II. At that time, he was wounded in the leg and subjected to captivity and subsequently transferred to Germany, and as a result of his severe injury to his leg, it was amputated.[9]

In 1942, he became Caïd in Bni Drar. He was retired as 90% war invalid and was appointed captain in 1943. He became Pasha of Sefrou in 1944. He left active service in the French army in 1946 and was promoted to reserve lieutenant colonel in 1953.[10]

He is one of the few pashas to have protested in 1953 against the deposition of Sultan Mohammed V, resigning from his post at Sefrou. He writes this telegram:

"Not approving the coup de force which provoked the deposition of HM the Sultan of Morocco, and which I consider illegal on all counts, I have decided to resign from my duties as Pasha of Sefrou in order to be faithful in my soul and conscience. I cannot, in fact, serve a regime which I hold to be illegal. »[11]

He had the honor to sign the act of independence of Morocco on March 2, 1956, with Christian Pineau representing France, and April 7 with Martin Artajo representing Spain.[12]

He resigned as Prime Minister during the May 1958 crisis, which was created by the refusal to allow the People's Movement Party.[13]

Death

Confronted with "recurrent health problems", he died in Rabat on April 12, 1961 – 45 days after King Mohammed V - and was buried in his hometown.[14]

Awards

References

  1. ^ "Guide général du Maroc". Éditions Paumarco. Jul 16, 1957. Retrieved Jul 16, 2020 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ MATIN, LE. "Le Matin - Commémoration du centenaire de feu M'Barek Bekkay Lahbil". Le Matin. Retrieved Jul 16, 2020.
  3. ^ Deux Amazighs à la tête du premier gouvernement du Maroc indépendant (in French) at the Wayback Machine (archived 27 December 2017)
  4. ^ "Political Leaders:Morocco". Archived from the original on 2012-05-25.
  5. ^ "الكولونيل المنصوري يفتح علبة أسراره للأسبوع". الأسبوع. 8 June 2013. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  6. ^ "جميع رؤساء المغرب عبر التاريخ". انا مسافر (in Arabic). 2021-01-06. Retrieved 2022-05-01.
  7. ^ Lentz, Harris M. (2013). Heads of States and Governments Since 1945. Routledge. ISBN 9781134264902.
  8. ^ "Les premiers gouvernements du Ma". www.aljabriabed.net. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
  9. ^ "حقائق عن أول رئيس حكومة مغربي بعد الاستقلال | Maghrebvoices". www.maghrebvoices.com (in Arabic). Retrieved 2022-05-01.
  10. ^ Yabiladi.com. "Bekkay I, the story of the first and the shortest government in Morocco". en.yabiladi.com. Retrieved 2022-05-01.
  11. ^ "ذاكرة: البكاي"لهبيل" الذي بثر رجله من أجل فرنسا وقاد أول حكومة مغربية بعد الاستقلال(فيديو)". دابا بريس (in Arabic). 2021-04-18. Retrieved 2022-05-01.
  12. ^ "Cérémonie au quai d'Orsay d'accession à l'indépendance du Maroc | INA". ina.fr (in French). Retrieved 2022-05-02.
  13. ^ "البكّاي الهبيل .. الأسير الذي ترأس أول حكومة مغربية بساق واحدة". Hespress - هسبريس جريدة إلكترونية مغربية (in Arabic). 2019-12-20. Retrieved 2022-05-01.
  14. ^ "Bekkay-Lahbil". تاريخ بني يزناسن. Retrieved 2022-05-01.
  15. ^ "LES QUATRE GARDIENS DU TRÔNE". Le Monde.fr (in French). 1955-10-18. Retrieved 2022-05-02.

External links

Preceded by
None
 Prime Minister of Morocco
1955 - 1958 		Succeeded by