Prince Moulay Rachid of Morocco

Prince Moulay Rachid of Morocco, also known as Prince Moulay Rachid ben al-Hassan (الأمير مولي رشيد بن الحسن) was born on 20 June 1970 in Rabat as the youngest male child of the late King Hassan II. He holds a doctorate in international politics and serves Morocco as a diplomat. He is currently 3rd in the line of succession to the Moroccan throne.

Early life and education
After primary and secondary studies at the Royal College in Rabat and obtaining the Baccalauréat in June 1989, he entered Mohammed V University in Rabat to start his higher studies in Law. In May 1993, Prince Moulay Rachid obtained his Bachelor of Law (LL.B.) majoring in economic and social law. The same year the Prince received his License to Practice Law – Public Law with the mention “very good”. On 29 June 1995, the Prince completed his graduate Studies and received a Master of Law (LL.M.) in Political Science, with mention “very good”. The Bosnia question was the subject of his research and the thesis that the Prince presented and supported publicly. In order to complete his training for his postgraduate education, in November 1993, the Prince started an internship with the United Nations in New York. On 18 May 2001, the Prince presented his doctorate thesis on the Organisation of the Islamic Conference at the Université Montesquieu-Bordeaux IV, which merited a specific mention for the quality of his work. On 21 June 1996, the Prince successfully completed the written and oral tests for his post graduate education and received a Post-graduate Degree in International Relations, with mention “very good”.

In addition to his native language Arabic, the Prince speaks English, French, and Spanish.

Military career
In July 1994, Prince Moulay Rachid was promoted to the rank of Colonel in the Royal Moroccan Navy. In July 2000, Prince Moulay Rachid was promoted to the rank of brigadier general.

Activities

 * Since April 1997, Prince Moulay Rachid has been president of the National Federation of Moroccan Scouting.


 * Prince Moulay Rachid an amateur of golf and has represented Morocco professionally. In 2000, he founded the Hassan II Golf Trophy Association, which is hosting the Hassan II Golf Trophy.


 * In 2001 Prince Moulay Rachid initiated the Marrakech International Film Festival Foundation (MIFFF) and Marrakech International Film Festival.


 * He is the president of the Royal Moroccan Federation for Hunting Shotgun Shooting.

Prince Moulay Rachid is also the honorary president of:


 * Grand Heart Association (2006)
 * Moroccan Falconers Association Al-Noubala (2007)
 * Royal Moroccan Yachting Federation
 * Royal Moroccan Skiing and Mountaineering Federation
 * Moroccan Environmental Protection Association, Moroccan – Far East Association
 * Spanish Social Service Association, Maghreb Association for Research and the Fight Against AIDS
 * Moroccan Association of Law Students in France.

Family
Prince Moulay Rachid is the second son and the fifth child of King Hassan II and his wife, Lalla Latifa Hammou. Prince Moulay Rachid has one older brother King Mohammed VI and three sisters Princess Lalla Meryem, Princess Lalla Asma and Princess Lalla Hasna.

Prince Moulay Rachid as heir to the Moroccan throne
In 1999, after the death of his father and the enthronement of his brother King Mohammed VI, the prince became crown prince, but in 2002 his brother conferred this position to his own newborn son Moulay Hassan. The Prince is now a second in line to the throne.

In 1999, a few Moroccan and international governments and analysts argued that Prince Moulay Rachid might be better suited for the job of the king than his brother Mohammed VI. They expressed their concern that Mohammed VI might not have adequate expertise to deal with the Islamists.

Fouad Mourtada controversy
On 5 February 2008, Fouad Mourtada was arrested on suspicion of stealing the identity of Prince Moulay Rachid and creating a false profile on Facebook despite the fact that Prince Moulay Rachid did not sue him. On 23 February, Fouad Mourtada was sentenced to 3 years in jail and fined 10,000 dirhams (~1,350 US Dollars). After local protests and international criticism, Fouad Mourtada was granted a royal pardon on 19 March 2008 just days before an appeal hearing.