Rabat // The co-founder of Morocco’s oldest political party Al Istiqlal, which played a key role in the country’s independence from France and Spain, has died at the age of 92.
M’hamed Boucetta, a three-time minister and chief of Istiqlal for more than two decades, passed away at his home in Rabat on Friday evening after a long illness, the party said on Saturday.
He will be buried on Sunday in his birthplace, the southern city of Marrakesh, it said.
Born in 1925, Boucetta became involved in politics as a student, when Morocco was still under French and Spanish rule.
He studied law at France’s Sorbonne University and set up his own law firm in Casablanca at the age of 25 before going into politics full time.
Istiqlal, which means independence, played a major role in Morocco’s independence from colonial rule.
Boucetta was involved in the party since its formation in the 1940s, and elected secretary general in 1974.
He also served as foreign minister in the early 1980s before quitting Istiqlal’s top post in 1998, and held two other cabinet portfolios.
Nationalist and conservative, Istiqlal dominated Morocco’s political life until 2011, when the Islamist Justice and Development Party won general elections following Arab Spring-inspired demonstrations.
Istiqlal came third in legislative elections last year.
* Agence France-Presse
