Two days after her appointment, the King ends Minister Delegate Madiha Khayr's duties at the Head of Government's request

What happened?

On the evening of Sunday 18 October 2026 the Royal Cabinet announced that King Mohammed VI had received a request from Head of Government Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri to end the duties of Madiha Khayr, Minister Delegate to the Minister of National Education, Preschool, Vocational Training and Qualification, in charge of Vocational Training and Qualification, and that he had accepted it under Article 47 of the Constitution .

The decision came only two days after the government was appointed on 16 October . Khayr is a leading member of the Istiqlal Party .

What does the Constitution say?

Article 47 lets the King relieve one or more members of the government on his own initiative after consulting the Head of Government, and lets the Head of Government ask the King to do so. Here the request came from the Head of Government, as the announcement states .

Was a reason given?

No. The official announcement gave no reason and named no successor . Personal documents attributed to her circulated online and could not be verified; the announcement does not link them to the decision. Government spokesperson Samir Belfkih said the government acted urgently over the circulation of personal data that accompanied the appointment, as part of its responsibility, without giving it as an official reason for the dismissal . We do not publish the content of those documents because it is unverified personal data.

What does it change for the government?

- The government goes from 32 to 31 members, and ministers delegate from 11 to 10.
- Istiqlal now holds 5 government posts instead of 6, according to the party split published on the day of the appointment.
- Vocational training remains within the remit of the Minister of National Education, Preschool, Vocational Training and Qualification pending any new appointment.

What we do not know yet

- Whether and when a successor will be appointed.
- Whether she returns to her parliamentary seat; we found no official source settling this.