Aziz Akhannouch

Aziz Akhannouch (Berber:Ɛaziz Axnnuc; Arabic: عزيز أخنوش‎; born 1961 in Tafraout)[2] is a Moroccan businessman and current Minister of Agriculture since 2007.

Aziz Akhannouch
Ɛaziz Axnnuc
عزيز ابن أخنوش
Aziz Akhenouch in Marrakesh 2011
Minister of Economy and Finance
(interim)
In office
23 August 2013 – 20 August 2018
Prime MinisterAbdelilah Benkirane
Preceded byNizar Baraka
Minister of Agriculture
Assumed office
September 2007
Prime MinisterAbbas El Fassi
Abdelilah Benkirane
Saadeddine Othmani
Personal details
Born1961
Tafraout, Morocco
Resting placeCasablanca, Morocco
NationalityMoroccan
Political partyNational Rally of Independents (RNI) 2016-
Spouse(s)Salwa Idrissi Akhannouch
Children3(Sidiahmed,Soukayna,Kenza)
Alma materUniversité de Sherbrooke
OccupationBusinessman, Politician
Net worth US$2 billion (January 17, 2021)[1]
Websitewww.akwagroup.com

Early life and education

In 1986, Akhannouch graduated from the Université de Sherbrooke with a management diploma.[3]

Business

He is the CEO of Akwa Group, a Moroccan conglomerate particularly active in the oil and gas sector.[2] Forbes estimates his net worth as $1.4 billion as of November 2013.[4] Akhannouch inherited Akwa from his father.[4] In 2020, Akhannouch was 21st on Forbes's annual list of the world's wealthiest Arabs.[5]

Politics

From 2003 to 2007, Akhannouch was the president of the Souss-Massa-Drâa regional council.[3] He was a member of the National Rally of Independents Party, before leaving it on 2 January 2012.[6][7] On 23 August 2013 he was appointed by King Mohammed VI as interim Minister of Finance on an interim basis after Istiqlal ministers resigned from Benkirane's cabinet, a position he kept until 9 October 2013.[3] On 29 October 2016, Akhannouch rejoined the RNI after being elected the president of the party. He took over Salaheddine Mezouar's position, who had resigned.[8]

In March 2020, through his company Afriquia, a subsidiary of the Akwa group, Akhannouch donated roughly one billion dirham ($103.5 million) to the Coronavirus Pandemic Management Fund founded by King Mohammed VI.[9][10]

United Nations

On 27 July 2016, Akhannouch met with Jonathan Pershing, Special Envoy for Climate Change for the United States. In their meeting, Akhannouch and Pershing spoke about preparations for the 2016 United Nations Conference of the Parties.[11]

Private life

He is married to Salwa Idrissi, a businesswoman who owns a company active in malls and holds the Moroccan franchises for brands such as Gap, Zara and Galeries Lafayette.[4]

References
  1. Forbes Aziz Akhannouch https://www.forbes.com/profile/aziz-akhannouch Aziz Akhannouch Check |url= value (help). Retrieved January 17, 2021. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. "Parcours : Les success stories du souss". Archived from the original on 19 April 2010. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  3. Boum, Aomar; Park, Thomas K. (2016). Historical Dictionary of Morocco (3rd ed.). pp. 34–35. ISBN 9781442262966. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  4. "Aziz Akhannouch & family". Forbes. Archived from the original on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
  5. "World's Richest Arabs 2020". forbesmiddleeast.com. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  6. Saad-Alami, Youness (27 September 2011). "Agriculture solidaire: Le coup de pouce d'Akhannouch Entretien avec le ministre de l'Agriculture et de la Pêche maritime". L'Economiste. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  7. "Morocco: Gov't Advocates Comparative Advantages Benefiting Agricultural Countries in International Markets". allafrica.com. 9 September 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2011.(subscription required)
  8. "Aziz Akhannouch Elected President of RNI". moroccoworldnews.com. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  9. Hekking, Morgan (2020-03-17). "Moroccan Government Members Donate Salaries to COVID-19 Fund". Morocco World News. Retrieved 2020-03-26.
  10. "Morocco to create $1 billion fund to counter coronavirus outbreak". Reuters. 2020-03-15. Retrieved 2020-03-26.
  11. "US Climate Change Special Envoy in Morocco for COP 22 Discussions". Retrieved 10 November 2016.
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