Mohammed V

(Sidi Mohammed Ben Youssef). Born in 1909, in Fès; died Feb. 26, 1961, in Rabat. Sultan from 1927 to 1953 and from 1955 to 1957; king of Morocco from 1957.

Mohammed received both a European and a traditional Muslim education. He ascended the throne after the death of his father, Sultan Moulay Youssef. He supported demands for Moroccan independence after World War II (1939–45). In August 1953 the French authorities, aided by reactionary members of the feudal nobility, removed Mohammed V from power and exiled him to Madagascar. As a result of the national liberation movement of the Moroccan people, Mohammed was allowed to return to his homeland, and he again assumed the throne on Nov. 16, 1955.