Queen Elizabeth II: (14 Ambassadors)

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• 1957 – HRH Prince Moulay Hassan Ben Mehdi; (King Mohammed V).

Moulay El Hassan Ben Al Mehdi was a Moroccan politician and diplomat born in 1911. His father Moulay Al Mehdi (son of the uncle of Sultan Moulay Youssef) was appointed in 1913 Khalifa of Moulay Youssef in the North by Dahir (Royal decree).

After the death of his father in 1923 Moulay Hassan Ben Al Mehdi became the new Khalifa in 1925 and was appointed between 1957 and 1965, after independence, as Morocco’s Ambassador in London, and between 1965 and 1967 in Rome. He was then appointed Director of the BNDE Bank and then Director of Bank Al-Maghrib until his passing.

• • 1965 – HRH Princess Lalla Aicha; (King Hassan II).

The first Moroccan woman Ambassador, Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Aicha was born on 17 June 1930 in Rabat and was one of the sisters of His late Majesty King Hassan II and daughter of His late Majesty Mohammed V.

HRH Princess Lalla Aicha was Morocco's Ambassador to the United Kingdom (1965 - 1969), Greece (1969 - 1970), and Italy (1970 - 1973). She was also active with the Red Crescent.

• • 1969 – Mohammed Laghzaoui; (King Hassan II).

A successful businessman in Morocco at the end of the Protectorate, Mohamed Laghzaoui enjoyed the confidence of HM Mohammed V, and was head of the Moroccan police force, the Sûreté nationale.

At the time, M. Laghzaoui also belonged to the dominant Istiqlal party in the early years of independence.

• • 1971 – Thami Ouazzani; (King Hassan II).

Born in 1927 in Fez, Thami Ouazzani Touhamy studied at the Faculty of Law and Letters in Paris before joining the Bar Association of Casablanca. In 1956, he was appointed Minister of Industrial Production and Mines.

He also served as the Kingdom's Ambassador to Yugoslavia, Greece, Algeria and England and also held the position of Minister of Labor and Social Affairs and of Tourism.

• • 1973 – Abdallah Chorfi; (King Hassan II).

• • 1976 – Badreddine Senoussi; (King Hassan II).

Badreddine Senoussi held several high ranking positions in the Moroccan government including Director of the Royal Cabinet under the reign of His late Majesty Hassan II. In addition to parliamentary missions, M. Senoussi held the position of Minister and Ambassador in several countries including the United Kingdom between 1976 and 1980.

Born in 1933, Badreddine Senoussi was also involved in social action. He created the Hassan Senoussi Foundation for Social Works and the Dar Al Amane Center for Women and Children.

• • 1980 – Abdellatif Filali; (King Hassan II).

Born on 26 February 1929, Abdellatif Filali studied law in France before opting for a diplomatic career. He was chargé d'affaires at the UN in New York (1958-1959), then in France (1961-1962); he

He then held various positions within the Moroccan government, notably that of Minister of Foreign Affairs before being appointed Prime Minister in 1994.

• • 1981 – Mehdi Ben Abdeljalil; (King Hassan II).

• • 1987 – Abdeslam Zenined; (King Hassan II).

Abdesselam Zenined has held several positions in the Moroccan administration. He was Minister of Transport, Minister of Tourism, Director of Cabinet of the Prime Minister, Secretary General of the Ministry of Information etc. He has also served as Morocco’s Ambassador in Bagdad, London and Moscow.

• • 1991 – Khalid Haddaoui; (King Hassan II).

• • 1999 – Mohammed Belmahi ; (King Mohammed VI).

Mohammed Belmahi served as the Moroccan Ambassador to the UK from 1999-2009 and as Morocco’s Ambassador to India and Nepal from 1996-1999. He was previously an executive at the ONA Group (Casablanca) from 1988-1995.

Mr. Belmahi has held various high-level positions in the Moroccan government such as the director general of the Moroccan National Tourist Office (1986-1988) and the director of tourism at the Ministry of Tourism (1982-1986). Mohamed Belmahi also served as an advisor to the chairman and CEO of OCP Group.

He was the first Moroccan to receive the "Freedom of the City of London", adistinction in recognition of his efforts in strengthening relations between Morocco and the United Kingdom and promoting interfaith dialogue..

• • 2007 - H.H Princess Lalla Joumala ALAOUI ; (King Mohammed VI).

Born in Rabat in 1962, HH Princess Lalla Joumala Alaoui, is a Moroccan diplomat who served as Morocco's Ambassador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from 2009 to 2016.

HH Lalla Joumala Alaoui has been Morocco's Ambassador to the United States since 2021. She is the President of the Moroccan British Society (MBS) establishingThe King Mohammed VI Fellowship in Moroccan and Mediterranean Studies at St Anthony's College, Oxford University, in 2004

In 2015, she received the prestigious Diplomat Magazine Award for her outstanding contribution to diplomacy.

• • 2016 - Abdesselam Aboudrar; (King Mohammed VI).

Mr. Aboudrar was Director of Insurance and Pensions (1998-2002), then Secretary General at the Caisse de dépôt et de gestion (CDG) between 2002 and 2006, before being appointed Deputy Director General of this institution in March 2006. In August 2008, he was President of the Central Instance for the Prevention of Corruption (ICPC).

In 2016 he was appointed Ambassador of Morocco to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in 2016.

• • 1588 – Rais Merzouk Ahmed Benkacem; (Sultan Al Mansour).

• • 1595 – Caid Ahmed Ben Adel; (Sultan Al Mansour).

• • 1600 – Abdelouahed BenMassaud Anoun; (Sultan Al Mansour).

Abdelouahed Anoun was an exceptional Ambassador for an exceptional period in Anglo- Moroccan relations marked by a deep friendship and respect between Queen Elizabeth I and Sultan Ahmed Al Mansour.

Appointed by Sultan Ahmed Al Mansour Saadi in 1600 when he was 42 years old, he was sent to London to strengthen the partnership between Morocco and Great Britain.

The Ambassador is said to have made his mark as a distinguished Moor who was nothing like what the English knew or expected from Moroccans. Some observers of the time argue that it was indeed Abdelouahed Anoun who inspired Shakespeare’s Othello, indeed, Anun portrait hands at the Shakespeare Institute.

King Charles I: (2 Ambassadors and 5 Envoys)

• •   1627 – Mohammed Bensaid (Lopez de Zapar) and Ahmed Narvaez (Envoys); (Al Ayashi, Governor of Salé Republic).

• • 1628 – Pasha Ahmed Benabdellah (Envoy); (Prince Abdelmalek).

• • 1629 – Mohammed Clafishou (Envoy); (Al Ayashi, Governor of Salé Republic).

• • 1637 – General Jawdar Ben Abdellah; (Sultan Mohammed Sheikh Al Asghar).

Architect of the Moroccan-British reconciliation of the 17th century, Jawdar Ben Abdellah was appointed by the Sultan on 19 September 1637 as Ambassador to the court of Charles

I. The Ambassador intervened in an internal context marked by the decline of the Saadian reign and the rise in power of the Alaouite dynasty.

There are reports about him in the London Gazette, the prestigious London magazine of the time, where the Ambassador was sometimes treated like a celebrity in England. During his time in England, the Ambassador, like his predecessors, made a strong impression on London society.

• • 1638 – Caid Mohammed Benaskar; (Sultan Mohammed Sheikh Al Asghar).

• • 1639 – Robert Blake (Envoy); (Sultan Mohammed Sheikh Al Asghar).

King Charles II: (1 Ambassador and 1 Envoy)

• • 1657 – Abdelkarim Annaksis (Envoy); (Marabout Ahmed El Haj Dilai).

• • 1681 – Mohammed Ben Hadou Attar; (Sultan Moulay Ismail).

Mohamed Ben Hadou Al Attar was appointed by the Alaouite Sultan Moulay Ismail Ambassador to the court of King Charles II from 29 December1681 to 23 July1682, becoming an honorary member of the Royal Society during his stay. His main mission was

King James II: (1 Ambassador)

• • 1685 – Admiral Abdellah Ben Aicha; (Sultan Moulay Ismail).

King William III and Mary II: (1 Ambassador)

• • 1691 – Haïm Toladano; (Sultan Moulay Ismail).

King William: (2 Envoys)

• • 1700 – Mohammed Cardenas and Haj Ali Saban; (Sultan Moulay Ismail).

Queen Anne: (2 Ambassadors and 1 Envoy)

• • Early 1700’s – Joseph Diaz; (Sultan Moulay Ismail).

• • 1706 – Ahmed ben Ahmed Cardenas; (Sultan Moulay Ismail).

• • 1710 – Bentura de Zari (Envoy); (Sultan Moulay Ismail).

King George I: (3 Ambassadors)

• • 1723 – Admiral Abdelkader Perez; (Sultan Moulay Ismail).

Abdelkader Perez served as Ambassador during the reign of three successive Sultans, Moulay Ismail, Moulay Abdellah and Moulay Ali Ben Ismail.

Appointed in 1723, Abdelkader Perez carried out his first diplomatic mission in England until 1724 before he was given a new mission in the Netherlands. He was again appointed as an emissary to the British court in 1737 where he then remained until 1743.

You can find a stunning portrait of Abdelkader Perez in the Ben Elwes Fine Art gallery in London.

• • 1725 – Mohammed ben Ali Abghali; (Sultan Moulay Ismail).

Appointed by Moulay Ismail, Mohamed Ben Ali Abgali arrived in London in the summer of 1725 but did not meet King George I until January 1726.

Following in the footsteps of his predecessors, Mohammed Ben Ali Abgali, became close to the cultural and scientific circles of Great Britain. Historians report several exchanges of letters with the British Royal Society as well as attendance at several distinguished artistic performances demonstrating his interest in theatre and poetry.

The Ambassador also made his mark on the artistic circles, which earned him a portrait, signed by Enoch Seeman (1694- 1744), the painter of the royal court of England. Mohammed Ben Ali Abgali left the United Kingdom in 1727.

• • 1737 – Admiral Abdelkader Perez; (Sultan Mohammed II).

• • 1762 – Abdelkader Adiel; (Sultan Mohammed III).

• • 1766 – Admiral El Arbi Ben Abdellah Ben Abi Yahia Al Mestiri; (Sultan Mohammed III).

• • 1772 – Jacob Benider; (Sultan Mohammed III).

In 1772, the Alaouite Sultan Moulay Mohammed Ben Abdellah, known as Mohamed III, sent his Ambassador to Britain to conclude a treaty with King George III. He appointed Jacob Ben Iddir, a British Jewish Ambassador, to represent the Cherifian Kingdom in a foreign country.

In the 1770s, Ben Idder was a British consular officer in Gibraltar born in the British overseas territory. His father, Abraham Ben Idder, wasa man loyal to the crown. He was, in fact, an employee of the British government, as an interpreter and consular officer.

Unlike his father, Jacob Ben Idder, also appointed to a civil service position, left Gibraltar to serve the Sultan of Morocco, Moulay Mohamed Ben Abdellah AlKhatib. He was appointed Ambassador for this special mission in London. According to historians, Britain had initially considered this a case of shared loyalty but the emissary was eventually received by King George III as a Minister of the Emperor of Morocco

• • 1773 – Sidi Taher Ben Abdelhaq Fennish ; (Sultan Mohammed III).

• • 1781 – Mas’ud de la Mar (Envoy) ; (Sultan Mohammed III).

King George IV: (1 Ambassador)

• • 1827 – Meir Ben Maqnin; (Sultan Moulay Abderrahman).

Queen Victoria: (4 Ambassadors)

• • 1860 – Al Amine Said Mohammed As-Shami; (Sultan Mohammed IV).

• • 1876 – Haj Mohammed Zebdi; (Sultan Moulay Hassan I).

Born in Rabat between 1805 and 1806, Mohamed Zebdi made the Pilgrimage twice, which for the time was rare enough to be highlighted and which earned him the title of Haj. He had also served as prefect of the city of Rabat.

Mohamed Zebdi went first to Paris in 1876, then to Belgium, before going to Great Britain. Moulay Hassan’s emissary met with Queen Victoria and held talks with her as well as with her Prime Minister. Mohamed Zebdi was able to send a letter to Moulay Hassan informing him of his progress and of the negotiations he had conducted with the Queen of England before returning to Paris and finishing his tour in Italy.

• • 1880 – Mohammed Ben Abdellah Ben Abdelkrim Assafar; (Sultan Moulay Hassan I).

• • 1897 – HRH Prince Moulay Mohammed; (Sultan Moulay Abdelaziz).

King Edward VII: (3 Ambassadors)

• • 1901 – Al Mahdi Al Mnebhi; (Sultan Moulay Abdelaziz).
    Appointed in 1901, during the reign of King Edward VII, Mehdi El Menebhi is best known for playing a role in the crisis with the Demnat Jewish community in the late 19th century.