Rachid Benmokhtar Benabdellah is president of Al Akhawayn University, Morocco, a position to which he was appointed by Late King Hassan II in June 1998.
He graduated in aeronautical engineering from the Université de Toulouse, France and is an IMD alumnus. He started his career with IBM France in 1967. In 1973 he founded, with other engineers, the first Moroccan consulting company in computer science and management. In 1978, he founded with Parsons Brinckerhoff, the large US-based engineering company, a Moroccan subsidiary. In 1976, he became member of the team appointed by the Club of Rome to work on the project No Limits to Learning.
With his interest in education increasing, he became visiting professor at the Mohammedia School of Engineering, member of the School Council and then a member of the Mohamed V University Council. He served as Moroccan Minister of Education from February 1995 to March 1998.
Rachid Benmokhtar Benabdellah is a member of the Hassan II Academy of Science and Techniques, Chairman of the Scientific Committee in Charge of the Human Development of the 50th anniversary of Moroccan independence. He is member of the committee of experts on Public Administration of the United Nations, President of the Moroccan Foundation for Nature and Mankind (FMNH) and member of the World Bank Institute Advisory Council (WBI).
He is the holder of the Albert Einstein medal for Education and Peace, Chevalier of the Ouissam Alaouite and Officer of the Legion of honor of the French Republic.
Rachid Benmokhtar Benabdellah is a member of the Conseil de Surveillance of Holcim (Maroc) S.A.
He was a member of the Holcim Awards global jury in 2006 and a member of the Holcim Awards jury for region Africa Middle East in 2008.
[last update 30-Jun-09]