ABSTRACT
The sudden and untimely death of King Mohammed V at the age of fifty was a severe loss to Morocco, whatever one’s opinion of his policy and rule. The King acted during his later years not only as head of the state but also as leader of the government. The first years of King Hassan II’s rule passed more quietly than some people had predicted. The monarch continued the policy initiated by his father and fulfilled promises made earlier. King Hassan appointed a government that included leading members of all parties except the Union Nationale des Forces Populaires. On January 23, 1962, King Hassan agreed with the Provisional Government of the Republic of Algeria to further the plans for a Maghreb federation or union. Morocco was ruled by a coalition government led by Ahmed Reda Guedira in which King Hassan seemed to have unlimited confidence until in 1963 the Istiqlal joined the unfp and the umt in opposition.
