Western Saharan born Moroccan official dismissed for holding Spanish nationality

King Mohammed VI of Morocco has dismissed the Secretary of State to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Ahmed Lakhrif, after the latter recently obtained Spanish nationality, the Moroccan Press Agency (MAP) has said. “The government of his majesty the king heard that for several months the Spanish authorities have been granting Spanish nationality to many high Moroccan officials and that this procedure would be justified by the responsibility of Spain vis-à-vis some regions of the Moroccan kingdom then under Spanish protectorate,” the agency reported. Lakhrif, aged 55, was born in Smara, in the Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony under the control of Morocco since 1975.