Hassan II of Morocco

Hassan II (الحسن الثاني; 9 July 1929 – 23 July 1999) was King of Morocco from 1961 until his death in 1999.

He was a member of the 'Alawi dynasty, the eldest son of Sultan Mohammed V, and his second wife, Lalla Abla bint Tahar.

Mawlay al-Hassan bin Mohammed bin Yusef al-Alawi was born on 9 July 1929, at the Dar al-Makhzen in Rabat during the French Protectorate of Morocco as the eldest son to Sultan Mohammed V and his 2nd wife, Lalla Abla bint Tahar, as a member of the 'Alawi dynasty.

Hassan first studied Islamic sciences at the Dar al-Makhzen in Fez, he then became a student at Royal College in Rabat, where instruction was in Arabic and French and a class was created for him, Mehdi Ben Barka was notably his mathematics teacher for four years at the Royal College.

In 1943, a 12-year-old Hassan attended the Casablanca Conference at the Anfa Hotel along with his father, where he met U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Prime Minister Winston Churchill and General Charles de Gaulle.

In 1947, Prince Hassan participated in his father's speech in Tangier (then part of the Tangier International Zone).

In the speech, Sultan Mohammed wished for the French Protectorate of Morocco, the Spanish protectorate of Morocco and the Tangier International Zone to be unified into one nation.

The speech became a reference for Moroccan nationalists and anti-colonial movements and later led to Morocco's independence.

Hassan later claimed that he had "profound resentment" towards the protectorate and that he felt "deep humiliation" from French colonialism, despite paying hommage to Hubert Lyautey, the first resident-general of the French protectorate, he was highly critical of Lyautey's successors, noting their "stubborn stupidity" and "total insensitivity".

In June 1948, Mawlay al-Hassan obtained his baccalaureate from the College Royal.

He pursued his higher education at the Rabat Institute of Higher Studies, a department of the University of Bordeaux, from where he received a law degree in 1951.

In 1952, Prince Moulay Hassan earned a master's degree in public law from the University of Bordeaux before serving in the French Navy on board the Jeanne d'Arc cruiser.

He was a doctoral student at the Faculty of Law of Bordeaux when in August 1953 his family's exile occurred.

He was forced into exile by French authorities on 20 August 1953, along with his family and father, they were deported to Zonza, Corsica.

Their deportation caused protests and further fueled the anti-colonial movement.

They moved to the city of L'Île-Rousse and were living in the Napoléon Bonaparte hotel for five months before being transferred to Antsirabe, Madagascar in January 1954.

Prince Hassan acted as his father's political advisor during the exile.

They later returned from exile on 16 November 1955.

During the exile, Mohammed Ben Aarafa was named as the Sultan by the French government in Morocco, however, the Moroccan government does not recognize the title.

Prince Hassan participated in the February 1956 negotiations for Morocco's independence with his father.

Following Morocco's independence from France, his father appointed him as the first Commander in Chief of the newly founded Royal Moroccan Armed Forces in April 1956.

The same year, he led army contingents to victory after defeating rebel militias during the Rif revolt.

It was during his tenure as Commander in Chief of the Royal Armed Forces that Hassan met General Mohamed Oufkir, who became the Minister of Defense during Hassan II's reign.

Oufkir was later suspected of orchestrating a failed coup d'état to kill Hassan.

He was the first commander-in-chief of the Royal Armed Forces and named crown prince in 1957.

After Mohammed V changed the title of the Moroccan sovereign from Sultan to King in 1957, Hassan was proclaimed Crown Prince on 9 July 1957.

In this position, he was the president of the organising committee of the International Meeting at the monastery of Toumliline in 1957 and held the welcome speech.

He was enthroned as king in 1961 following his father's death.

Hassan's reign was marked by the start of the Western Sahara conflict and the Sand War.

He was named prime minister in 1961.

On 26 February 1961, Crown Prince Hassan became the King of Morocco after his father's death from heart failure following a minor surgery.

He was enthroned in the Royal Palace of Rabat on 3 March 1961.

His first official foreign visit as King was when attending the 1st Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Belgrade.

In 1962, Hassan II and his aides wrote the Kingdom of Morocco's first constitution, defining the kingdom as a social and democratic constitutional monarchy, made Islam the state religion, and gave the king, whose person was defined as "inviolable and sacred", the title of Amir al-Mu'minin and "supreme representative of the nation".

The constitution also reaffirmed Morocco's choice of a multi-party political system, the only one in the Maghreb at that time.

Having ascended the throne, on June 25, 1963, Dean Lajugie presented him with the insignia of Doctor Honoris Causa of the University of Bordeaux.

He was the target of two failed coups d'état in 1971 and in 1972.

Hassan's conservative approach reportedly strengthened his rule over Morocco and the Western Sahara.

He was accused of authoritarian practices and human rights, civil rights abuses, particularly during the Years of Lead.

A truth commission was set-up after his death, to investigate allegations of human rights violations during his reign.