Messenger of Peace in Morocco - Term Paper Example

King of Morocco Table of Contents Kingdom of Morocco 3 King Hassan II (1961-1999) 4 Family and Early Life 4 His Youth and Education 4 His Reign 5 Death 7 Education of Tanzania 8 References 9 Bibliography 10 Kingdom of Morocco Morocco, popularly known as the Kingdom of Morocco, is one of the ancient countries of the world. Located in North Africa, the country has a rich culture and civilization that has mostly remained indigenous. The country falls under the purview of the Western Sahara and the capital city is Rabat. Morocco follows a ‘de jure’ constitutional monarchy along with an elected parliament. The King of Morocco has vast power and with the help of the vivid executive power bestowed upon the king, he is entitled to dissolve government and install the military power to replace it. Politics of Morocco evolve and sustain in a parliamentary constitutional monarchy where under the executive power of Moroccan king, the political powers are nurtured. Thus, the king of Morocco is the instrumental post in its constitutional framework and does not merely indicate the ornamental presence. The designation of ‘King’ has been used since 1957 and prior to it, the office was known by the name of ‘Sultan’ (Pogar, “Constitution”). King Hassan II was one of the most prominent kings of Morocco in the span of last fifty years. His contribution towards the politics and society will always remain a milestone in the modern history of Morocco and inspiration for the future generation of monarchy. King Hassan II (1961-1999) Family and Early Life King Hassan II was born in the year of 1929, on the second day in the month of July. He was the second eldest son of the great king Mohammed V and princess Lalla Alba bint Tahar. When Hassan II was born, the throne of Morocco was reined by his father Mohammad V. King Hassan II had five siblings which included his five sisters and one brother. His Youth and Education King Hassan II received his education from Imperial College situated at Rabat. King Hassan completed his degree of Law from University of Bordeaux. On August 20th, 1953 he was exiled to Corsica along with his father Mohammed V and his entire family. They were sent to exile by the French authorities. From there, the family of the Sultan was shifted to Madagascar in the moth of January of 1954. King Hassan II was known by the name of Prince Moulay Hassan and he worked as his father’s chief political advisor during this period as the family returned from exile on November 16th, 1955. Prince Moulay Hassan whole heartedly participated in the negotiations for the independence of Morocco along with his father, who in the following years, appointed him as the Chief of Staff of the Royal Armed Force in the month of April of the year 1965. In the very same year, he was appointed as the leader of the army contingent, in-charge of battling the rebels in the mountains ranges of Rif. The title of the Moroccan sovereignty was changed from ‘Sultan’ to the title of ‘King’ by Mohammed V in 1957. Hassan was announced as the Crown Prince on 19th July of the same year and declared as the King of Morocco on the 3rd of March of 1961, after the bereavement of his father (Dictionary, “King Hassan II Biography”). His Reign Hassan II is often criticized for conservative rule and anomalies throughout his reign. He is also criticized for poor record of human rights. In Morocco’s Constitution in the year 1963, Hassan II reaffirmed the choice of Morocco’s multi-party system, which was prevailing only in Maghreb. Hassan II also dissolved the parliament in 1965. Although, he did not completely abolish the mechanisms of the parliamentary democracy but he was indeed successful to establish his rule directly. This consequently led to the protest demonstrations and riots challenging the rule of the King during the period. During the early decades of seventies, King Hassan fortunately survived two assassination attempts. The first attempt was made by “coup detat” and was supported by Libya. This entire attack was organized by General Madbouh and Colonel Ababou which was executed during the King’s function in summer palace of Rabat. This mis-happening took place during the forty -second birthday party of the king where many dignitaries and guests along with the high profile visitors like Marcel Dupret, the Belgian Ambassador were present. All the guests along with the king were taken house arrest. Hence forth, the king was taken to a tiny pavilion. The main radio station of Rabat was captured and statement with propaganda of the establishment of republic and the murder of the king was broadcasted. The coup came to an end on the very same day when the royalist troops took the sole control of the palace and had a combat against the rebels. The second attempt took place in the year 1972 on August 16th when four of the F-5 military jets from the Royal Moroccan Air Force attacked the Boeing 727 carrying the king while he was returning from France to Rabat. This attempt failed abruptly and the then Morocco’s defense minister was officially declared as dead and the reason of his death was declared as suicide. Though, the death has lots of controversial stories behind it as the body was found with several bullets on it. During the cold-war era, Hassan II formed alliance with the West in general, particular with United States. CIA served and helped to recognize aw well as reorganize the security forces of Morocco in 1960. Hassan II also served as a back channel between the Arab and the Israel world. Hassan II facilitated negotiations between the Arab and the Israel regime and this was a great diplomatic step undertaken by Hassan. During his reign, Morocco achieved capture over Spain and took the control of the areas of Ifni in the year 1969. This resulted in the aggression over two-third of the Spanish Sahara through the operation “Green March” in the year 1975. The Sand War also took place under the rule of Hassan II for Moroccan’s aggressive claim on the territory of Algeria. In the periphery of economics, Hassan II adopted an economy that is market based with major emphasis on the sectors like agriculture, tourism and phosphates mining industries. The period that existed from 1960s to the late 1980s was labeled as the “years of lead”. These years witnessed myriad dissenter jailed, killed and was put to exile or compelled to disappear forcibly. King Hassan II also exercised and extended many parliamentary functions by the first half of the 90’s and released many political prisoners in the year of 1991. This was regarded as a humanitarian act and proves that at heart, he was a humanist. He also established the Royal Council for Human Rights to look after the allegations of abuses by the state (Cross, “King Hassan II: Morocco’s Messenger of Peace”). Death Aged seventy, King Hassan II died at Rabat on July 23rd of 1999. He was succeeded by Mohammed VI of Morocco. Education of Tanzania The United Republic of Tanzania believes that education is the pillar of the society and for quality manpower to cater various sectors, a formative education policy and framework is very much essential for its citizens. The formal education structure in Tanzania comprises of dedicated years of primary education, junior secondary and senior secondary or the advanced level. Henceforth, the education might extend up to maximum 3 years of Tertiary Education. Tanzania, under the purview of Ministry of Higher Education, follows bilingual policy in the medium of instruction. English is used along with Kiswahili as the medium of instruction in schools. Vocational training, commerce and discipline pertaining to administrative areas are given equal stress. Private donations in the form of donors’ community are well accepted and this way private and public sector walk hand-in hand for the development and enhancement of the quality of education (The United Republic of Tanzania, “Education”). References Cross, “King Hassan II: Morocco’s Messenger of Peace”. April 12, 2010. University of Kansas. 2007. This university research papers helps one to understand the various important happenings during the reign of King Hassan II of Morocco, especially his role for initiating peace in the region. Dictionary, “King Hassan II Biography”. April 12, 2010. Biography. No Date. This the only internet source used in the article and it provides comprehensive idea about the life and works of King Hassan II of Morocco. Pogar, “Constitution”. April 12, 2010. Morocco. September 13, 1996. This source basically comprises the constitution of Morocco and assists one to get a clear picture of the scope of constitutional rights and duties in Morocco. The United Republic of Tanzania, “Education”. April 12, 2010. National Website. No Date. The national website of Tanzania provides the comprehensive outline of the educational policy of the country. Bibliography Hassan II, The challenge: The Memoirs of King Hassan II of Morocco. MacMillan, 1978. The book is authored by the King himself and therefore, the reader can understand the works and the life of the king better with the book. Howe, M. Morocco: The Islamist Awakening and Other Challenges. Oxford University Press US, 2005. This book provides deep understanding of various challenges faced by Morocco especially that of Islamist awakening. Rhodes, A. The Challenge. MacMillan, 1979. This remarkable work of A. Rhodes again deals with the challenges faced by the country during the time and helped to write the article immensely. Read More