Leïla Mezian Benjelloun

Leïla Mezian Benjelloun
ليلى مزيان بنجلون
Born	Leïla Mezian 1938 Valencia, Spain
Died	13 July 2024 (aged 85-86)
Nationality	Moroccan
Alma mater	University of Madrid University of Barcelona
Occupation(s)	Physician, businesswoman
Spouse	Othman Benjelloun ​ (m. 1960)​
Children	2
Father	Mohamed Meziane

Leïla Mezian Benjelloun (1938 – 13 July 2024) was a Moroccan physician and businesswoman. She was best known as the wife of billionaire Othman Benjelloun.

Early life

Mezian was the daughter of Moroccan marshal Mohamed Meziane.[1] She was born in Valencia and grew up in Spain.[1] She was a graduate of the University of Madrid's medical school and earned a degree in Ophthalmology from the University of Barcelona's medical school.[2]

Career

Benjelloun was president of the BMCE Bank Foundation for Education and Environment.[3]

In October 2017, she laid the foundation stone of a museum being built at the junction of Moulay Youssef Boulevard and Roudani Boulevard in Casablanca.[4] The building is 26 meters high and was budgeted to cost 79 million MAD.[5] The building was completed in 2018.[3][5]

She was president of the Alaouite Organization for the Protection of the Blind and the Moroccan Red Cross, vice president of the Association of Medical Doctors in Morocco, and president of the Benjelloun-Mezian Foundation.[2]

On 2 November 2022, Leila won the Mediterranean Awards awarded by the Foundation for the Three Cultures of the Mediterranean.[6]

Personal life and death

In 1960, she married Othman Benjelloun. Together they had two children; Dounia, a film producer, and Kamal, an anthropologist and environmentalist.[2][7]

Benjelloun died on 13 July 2024.[8]

References

1. "100 FEMMES - Dr Leïla MEZIAN-BENJELLOUN". www.100femmes.ma. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
2. "Dr. Leïla Mezian Benjelloun". wise-qatar.org. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
3. Aissa Amourag (21 April 2021). "Le musée Docteur Leila Meziane Benjelloun bientôt inauguré à Casablanca". maroc-hebdo.press.ma. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
4. "Casablanca: le musée Leila Mezian Benjelloun a, enfin, son architecte... Et il est japonais". le360.com. 12 April 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
5. "Leila Mezian Benjelloun To Build a New Museum in Casablanca". moroccoworldnews.com. 18 December 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
6. "ليلى مزيان بنجلون تفوز بـ"جوائز متوسطية"". Hespress - هسبريس جريدة إلكترونية مغربية (in Arabic). 2022-11-02. Retrieved 2022-11-02.
7. eCapital. "Keynotes Speakers". www.fm6e.org. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
8. Jihane Rahhou. "Moroccan Philanthropist Leila Mezian Benjelloun Passes Away". www.moroccoworldnews.com. Retrieved 2024-07-13.