1918 -

Moroccan socialist political leader.

Ibrahim was educated at the Université Ben Youssef in Marrakech and the Sorbonne in Paris. He was a founding member of the Istiqlal party (1944 - 1959) and served on the editorial committee of Al-Alam, the party newspaper, (1950 - 1952). He was imprisoned for nationalist activities (1952 - 1954).

After independence from France, Ibrahim served as secretary of state for information (1955 - 1956); minister of labor and social affairs (1956 - 1958); and prime minister and minister of foreign affairs (1958 - 1960). In 1959 he helped form Union Nationale des Forces Populaires (National Union of Popular Forces; UNFP) from the left wing of the Istiqlal and became leader of the UNFP in July 1972 when its Rabat section became the Union Socialiste des Forces Populaires (Socialist Union of Popular Forces; USFP). Since then, the UNFP has reportedly become increasingly subordinated to the Moroccan Labor Union (UMT) and has waned in influence.

Bibliography

Waterbury, John. The Commander of the Faithful: The MoroccanPolitical Elite - - A Study in Segmented Politics. New York: Columbia University Press, 1970.

— C. R. PENNELL
UPDATED BY ANA TORRES-GARCIA

Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa. Copyright © 2004 by The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.