Abderrahmane Youssoufi | |
---|---|
12th Prime Minister of Morocco | |
In office 4 February 1998 – 9 October 2002 |
|
Monarch |
Hassan II Mohammed VI |
Preceded by | Abdellatif Filali |
Succeeded by | Driss Jettou |
Personal details | |
Born |
Tangier, Morocco |
8 March 1924
Political party | Socialist Union of Popular Forces |
Abderrahmane Youssoufi (/ɑːbdɛˈræxmɑːn ˈjuːsuːfi/ ahb-deh-RAKH-mahn YOO-soo-fee; Arabic: عبد الرحمن اليوسفي; born 8 March 1924) is a Moroccan politician who served as the Prime Minister of Morocco from 1998 to 2002. He was a human rights lawyer.
Born in Tangier, Youssoufi was a socialist from a young age, dedicating himself to organizing the working class of Casablanca as early as 1944. In 1949 Youssoufi began also to fight for the rights of emigrant Moroccan workers in France. He also studied law, practicing in Tangier from 1952 to 1960.
In 1959 Youssoufi joined the National Union of Popular Forces, a left-wing political party. He was arrested for his involvement in 1959 and again in 1963, the latter arrest leading to a prison sentence of two years. Following his release, Youssoufi went into self-imposed exile in Paris for a period of fifteen years. Later he returned to Morocco. Meanwhile, the National Union of Popular Forces became the Socialist Union of Popular Forces. In 1980 Youssoufi returned to join the new party, becoming the party secretary in 1992 after the death of Bouabid.