Abdelouafi Laftit (Arabic: عبد الوافي لفتيت; born 29 September 1967) is a Moroccan politician, currently serving as Minister of the Interior since 5 April 2017.

Abdelouafi Laftit
عبد الوافي لفتيت
Minister of Interior of Morocco
Assumed office
5 April 2017
MonarchMohammed VI
Prime MinisterSaadeddine Othmani
Aziz Akhannouch
Preceded byMohamed Hassad
Personal details
Born (1967-09-29) September 29, 1967 (age 57)
Tafersit, Morocco
Political partyIndependent
Children4

Biography

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Laftit was born in Tafersit. He graduated from the École Polytechnique in 1989, and the École des ponts ParisTech in 1991.[1][2] He is married with four children.[2]

Political career

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Laftit previously worked in several positions in the regional and port sectors. On 24 January 2014, he was appointed Wali (governor) of the Rabat-Salé-Zemmour-Zaer region by King Mohammed VI, as well as of the Rabat prefecture.[2] He remained Wali when the region was reorganized as Rabat-Salé-Kénitra in 2015.

In April 2017, Laftit was appointed by the king as Minister of the Interior in the government of Saadeddine Othmani.[3] He retained his position in the cabinet of Aziz Akhannouch.[4]

On 2 April 2018, during a meeting at the Commission for the Interior, Local Authorities, Housing and Urban Policy in the House of Representatives and in the context of the 2017–2018 Moroccan protests, Laftit accused a number of organizations, including the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH), the Democratic Way and the Islamist association Al Adl Wa Al Ihssane, of calling for demonstrations "in a vain attempt to blackmail the state" and serving the "interests of media outlets hostile to the Kingdom".[5] In response, the Moroccan Coalition of Human Rights Bodies said that Laftit intended to "reinforce censorship" and demanded an apology from him.[6]

References

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  1. ^ Choukrallah, Zakaria (5 April 2017). "Abdelouafi Laftit, le "Monsieur ports" propulsé à la tête de la "mère des ministères"". Telquel (in French). Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  2. ^ a b c "لفتيت.. وزير داخلية أشهرته قضية "خدام الدولة"". Al Jazeera (in Arabic). 6 April 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  3. ^ "Qui est Abdelouafi Laftit, ministre de l'Intérieur ?". Le Desk (in French). Maghreb Arabe Presse. 5 April 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  4. ^ Kasraoui, Safaa (7 October 2021). "Morocco Unveils New Government, Ministerial Appointments". Morocco World News. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  5. ^ "Jerada: Laftit accuse certaines parties de "tenter de faire chanter l'Etat"". HuffPost Maghreb (in French). Maghreb Arabe Presse. 3 April 2018. Archived from the original on 27 June 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. ^ "La Coalition des droits de l'Homme réclame des excuses à Laftit". HuffPost Maghreb (in French). 3 May 2018. Archived from the original on 27 June 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)