Leila Benali

H.E. Leila Benali is an international expert in the field of energy and has over 20 years of specialized experience in strategy, finance, and engineering. Dr. Benali was appointed by His Majesty King Mohammed VI in October 2021 as Morocco’s Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development. In 2019, she was also appointed as a member of the Special Commission on the Development Model (SCDM) mandated to re-think the kingdom’s development trajectory. She has worked with large international companies in her career, including Saudi Aramco, the World Economic Forum, the Arab Investment Company in Petroleum (APICORP).

An engineer turned economist, she has published numerous papers and books on energy, reforms, and sustainable wealth. A first-time minister, she was a member of the Moroccan Special Commission on the Development Model (CSMD), whose recommendations report was officially endorsed in April 2021. She holds a PhD in Economics and MsC in Political Science from Institut d’Etudes Politique (Science-Po), Paris; and MSc degrees in Industrial Engineering from Ecole Centrale Paris and Ecole d’Ingenieurs in Mohammadia.