Royal Profile: HM King Mohammed VI of Morrocco

King Mohammed VI of Morocco was born 21 August 1963 the son of King Hassan II and Lalla Latifa Hammou. He has one older sister, two younger sisters and a younger brother:

• HRH Princess Lalla Meryem (b.1962)
• HRH Princess Lalla Asma (b.1965)
• HRH Princess Lalla Hasna (b.1967)
• HRH Prince Moulay Rachid (b.1970)

He completed his primary and secondary studies at Royal College and attained his Baccalaureate in 1981, before gaining a bachelor's degree in law at the Mohammed V University at Agdal in 1985. His research paper dealt with "the Arab-African Union and the Strategy of the Kingdom of Morocco in matters of International Relations". He has also frequented the Imperial College and University of Rabat. Also in 1985, he was appointed President of the Pan Arab Games, and was commissioned a Colonel Major of the Royal Moroccan Army on 26 November. He served as the Coordinator of the Offices and Services of the Royal Armed Forces until 1994.

In 1987, Mohammed obtained his first Certificat d'Études Supérieures (CES) in political sciences, and in July 1988 he obtained a Diplôme d'Études Approfondies (DEA) in public law. In November 1988, he trained in Brussels with Jacques Delors, then-President of the European Commission.The King obtained his PhD in law with distinction on 29 October 1993 from the French University of Nice Sophia Antipolis for his thesis on "EEC-Maghreb Relations". On 12 July 1994, he was promoted to the military rank of Major General, and that same year he became President of the High Council of Culture and Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Moroccan Army. On 23 July 1999, he succeeded his father as king, being enthroned in Rabaton 30 July.

On 21 March 2002, he married Salma Bennani (now HRH Princess Lalla Salma) in Rabat. . They have two children:

• Crown Prince Moulay Hassan(8 May 2003)
• Princess Lalla Khadija ( 28 February 2007)