Omar Hejira, the Istiqlal politician who served as mayor of Oujda for 12 years, has retained responsibility for foreign trade in the new government, this time with the rank of minister delegate.
King Mohammed VI appointed Hejira on Friday as Minister Delegate to the Minister of Industry, Trade, Investment and Economic Inclusion, in charge of Foreign Trade.
The appointment comes nearly two years after Hejira entered government in October 2024 as secretary of state responsible for the same portfolio.
Born in Oujda in 1967, Hejira has spent much of his political career representing the city and the wider Oriental region.
He served two consecutive terms as mayor of Oujda between 2009 and 2021 and has held four parliamentary mandates since 2007 as a representative of the Oujda constituency.
Following the 2021 elections, he became first vice-president of the Oriental Regional Council.
His standing within Istiqlal’s parliamentary ranks grew in May 2024, when he was elected head of the party’s group in the House of Representatives. He was also appointed coordinator of the parliamentary groups of the governing majority.
Five months later, on October 23, 2024, King Mohammed VI named him secretary of state for foreign trade, bringing him into the executive after years in elected office.
A pharmacist by training, Hejira graduated from the Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland, in 1993.
His parliamentary work has included international assignments. He served on the Parliamentary Council of Europe from 2010 to 2015 and has been a member of the Inter-Parliamentary Union since 2021.
Hejira is married and has two children.
