Ahardan, Mahjoubi

(1922- )

   He was one of the founders of the Mouvement Populaire (MP) in 1956-1957 and was its first secretary-general (1962-1963). Ahardan is member of the Aït `Ammar of Oulmes and a graduate of the Collège Berbère in Azrou, a Franco-Berber school, as well as of the Military Academy of Meknes. He served in the French armed forces during World War II and as caid of his native area, Oulmes, from 1949 to 1953. As caid during the time of the exile of King Mohammad V, he rejected the Glaoui petition to depose the king. As a result, he was dismissed by the French and became a commander of one of the units of the Moroccan Liberation Army. As for his political career, Ahardan served as governor of Rabat Province (1956-1958), as minister of defense (1961-1964 and 1966-1967), as minister of agriculture and agrarian reforms (1964-1966), and as minister of post and telecommunications (1977). Over the past two decades, however, Ahardan's historical position and status within the MP has been challenged by a new breed of young Berber politicians bent on breathing new life into Berber issues and organizing. In 1986, Ahardan was removed from the position of leadership in the MP and then formed a new party, the Mouvement Populaire National.