The protectorate In 1909, Spain made a start on the military conquest of the Rif and two years later, Sultan Moulay Hafid called upon France to liberate Fez, which was besieged by rebellious tribes. Following French intervention, the Sultan was forced to accept a Protectorate Treaty signed on 30 March 1912, which stipulated that a sphere of influence be granted to Spain. Moulay Hafid abdicated in favour of Moulay Youssef, a man of culture, who began his reign by building a number of schools, including the one that still bears his name.

The same year, General Lyautey was appointed Resident General of Morocco. He immediately designated Rabat as capital and with the help of the urban planner Leon Henry Prost undertook modernisation of the cities of the Kingdom. In 1921, Abdelkrim El-Khattaby spearheaded the revolt of the Riffi tribes against European domination. 

His Majesty, King Mohamed V

General Lyautey left the country in 1925. France diminished Cherifian power by opting more and more for direct rule and resistance mounted, led by members of the young urban elite. The Second World War, however marked a truce between nationalist opposition and France. During the War, His Majesty King Mohamed Ben Youssef (Mohamed V) who had become the Sultan of the Cherifian Kingdom in 1927, undertook to protect all Moroccan Jews against persecution by the Vichy regime. In 1944, the Manifesto of Independence was published and three years later, in the then International City of Tangier, His Majesty King Mohamed V declared himself in favour of it. During the next five years, negotiations were entered into but without success. In 1952, the crisis between Protectorate authorities and nationalists culminated in insurrection and the Sultan was deposed, and then exiled in 1953. However, setbacks in Indo-China, long with the beginning of the Algerian War in 1954, prompted the French Government to seek a political solution in Morocco. The Sovereign returned from exile in November 1955, paving the way for Independence, which was formally recognised by France in 1956, and then by Spain. In the early years of Independence, His Majesty King Mohamed V strove to endow the country with democratic institutions, drawing up a constitution shortly before his death in 1961.

His Majesty King Hassan II

After the death of King Mohamed V on 26 February 1961, Moulay Hassan formally acceded to the throne on 3 March 1961. At the beginning of his reign, the new king sought to consolidate independence and unify the country, removing all foreign military presence in 1962. Troubled by political and economic difficulties, the beginning of the reign saw the reinforcement of centralisation, and in 1963, the Moroccan and Algerian armies faced each other across Saharan borders. The year 1965 saw the implementation of agrarian reform and in 1969 the province of Ifni was returned to the mother country.

On the international front, the late King dispatched two military contingents, one to the Golan Heights in Syria, the other to Sinai, in Egypt, to participate in the defence of these countries against Israeli aggression.

The Green March, which took place in November 1975 with a view to re-integrating Kingdom’s Saharan Provinces, rallied the entire Moroccan people behind the King leading to the end of the occupation of the southern regions.

His Majesty Hassan II counted among the world’s great leaders. He chaired the Al-Qods Committee using all his energies in order to preserve the Holy City from Israeli control. He encouraged growth in the agricultural sector, the basis of the national economy, building dozens of dams and distributing land to the worst-off farmers.

To develop national industry, he had factories and plants built, linked major cities and towns by laying an extensive network of road and ordered construction of ports and airports. He paid much attention to education, health, and housing, having hospitals, schools, institutes and universities built, and ordering that rents of all accommodation occupied by low-income tenants be reduced by one third. To lay the foundations for democracy, he set up municipal, communal and rural councils and established an elected parliament. He modified the administrative map of the country continually, creating new provinces to bring administration closer to the citizens, and issued directives designed to improve rural life. He oversaw the building of many mosques, of which the largest, the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, is a true masterpiece of Islamic architecture. He set up councils of Oulemas (religious scholars) and founded the Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco.

During the 90s, the regime became increasingly democratic, thanks to changes at both domestic and international level.

Following the death of His Majesty King Hassan II on July 23, 1999, a new Sovereign, born after Independence, was entrusted with the destiny of the Kingdom on 30 July 1999.