Aziz Akhannouch (Arabic: عزيز أخنوش, Berber: ⵄⴰⵣⵉⵣ ⴰⵅⵏⵏⵓⵛ; born 16 August 1961)[1][2] is a Moroccan politician, businessman, and billionaire who is serving as the 17th Prime Minister of Morocco since his government took office on 7 October 2021.

His mother and sister were survivors of the 1960 Agadir earthquake that killed ten of his family members; they were reported to have been left buried beneath rubble for several hours before being rescued.

[23] In March 2020, through his company Afriquia, a subsidiary of the Akwa group, Akhannouch donated roughly one billion dirhams ($103.5 million) to a COVID-19 pandemic management fund founded by King Mohammed VI.

[31][32] Since taking office, Akhannouch has represented King Mohammed VI at several foreign engagements and read speeches delivered by him during summits, including at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference.

[33] In late October 2021, Akhannouch was criticized by Moroccan citizens for wearing a pin of the MENA region that excluded Western Sahara while attending a Green Initiative event in Saudi Arabia.

[39] On 1 February 2023, Akhannouch participated with Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez in the 12th edition of the Morocco-Spain High Level Meeting in Rabat,[40][41] in which both countries signed a total of 19 bilateral agreements concerning a plethora of sectors.

At a previous gathering in Fez, he additionally accused Akhannouch of corruption, and implied that his $2 billion fortune was the equivalent of "all that 30 million Moroccans own".

[4] An open letter to King Mohammed VI from blogger Maysa Salama al-Naji published online in June 2021 cited a 400-page report counting corruption charges against Akhannouch.

[47] Akhannouch has been criticized over the suppression of dissenting opinions and imprisonment of opponents, alongside calls for an end to violations of freedom of speech and the right to peaceful demonstration.

[49][50][51][52] During the period following the case, the president of the Competition Council, Driss Guerraoui [fr], prepared a report on Akhannouch's illegal profits, and submitted it to King Mohammed VI.

[55] In the spring of 2018, Morocco was shaken by a boycott movement launched against Centrale Danone, Sidi Ali (mineral water) and Akwa's subsidiary Afriquia.

[10][56][57] According to the French think tank School of Thought on Economic Warfare (EPGE), which investigated the boycott movement, it was a campaign of "hierarchized" disinformation "therefore orchestrated by a precise political agenda", which would have benefited from a substantial budget, with for example between 100,000 and 500,000 euros for the purchase of online space to disseminate the ideas of the movement, as well as expensive donation campaigns to the poor to mobilize public opinion.

[61] In December 2019, during a meeting in Milan with Moroccans living in Italy, Akhannouch declared, "Whoever believes that they can come and insult the institutions of the country has no place in Morocco.

[62] TelQuel attributed his comments in relation to the arrest & prosecution of a Moroccan YouTuber after he published a video criticizing King Mohammed VI's speeches.

[11][66][67][68] Abdelilah Benkirane, head of the Justice and Development Party (PJD) and former prime minister, said that he "didn't support" the online campaign, adding that "only Sidna (our lord) [King Mohammed VI] has the competence (…) to put an end to this cabinet and call for the organisation of early legislative elections".

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