1919 -
Moroccan politician and business leader.
Educated in Morocco and France with a degree in economics, Muhammad Karim Lamrani served as an economic adviser to Hassan II in the 1960s. Lamrani went on to various prominent offices, including vice chairman, then president, of the Casablanca Chamber of Commerce; director of the national airline, Royal Air Maroc; and director general of the Sharifian Office of Phosphates. Hassan II appointed Lamrani as prime minister on six occasions - in 1971, 1972, 1983, 1985, 1992, and 1993. Unaffiliated with any major political group, Lamrani effectively served as a mediator between the crown and opposition parties. As prime minister, Lamrani was a champion of the private sector of the Moroccan economy.
In the early 1990s Lamrani led a government formed mainly by technocrats to guide the country through a difficult period of economic liberalization reforms. Renewed activism by Moroccan labor unions and Lamrani's failure to rally the opposition parties' support proved to be a major obstacle for the prime minister's policies in an atmosphere of social discontent. King Hassan II replaced him with Abdellatif Filali in 1994. Lamrani remains one of the wealthiest and most influential businessmen in Morocco.
Bibliography
Zartman, I. William, ed. The Political Economy of Morocco. New York: Praeger, 1987.
— MATTHEW S. GORDON
UPDATED BY ANA TORRES-GARCIA
