The ambassador of Russia to Morocco is the official representative of the president and the government of the Russian Federation to the king and the government of Morocco.
The ambassador and his staff work at large in the Russian Embassy in Rabat. There is a consulate-general in Casablanca, as well as a trade mission in Rabat. There are offices of Rossotrudnichestvo and the Federal Agency for Fishery in Rabat, where the Russian Orthodox Church and the news agency TASS also have representatives based.
The current Russian ambassador to Morocco is , incumbent since 27 May 2022.
History of diplomatic relations
Relations between the Russian Empire and the Alawi Sultanate date back to late 1777, when Sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah proposed the establishment of official contacts and the opening of trade with Empress Catherine the Great. Official letters were exchanged, and in July 1778 the Sultan proposed receiving a Russian representative. A Russian consulate was opened in Tangier in November 1897, with the first representative, , taking up his post in May 1898. French control over Morocco gradually expanded in the early 20th century, with the eventual establishment of a French protectorate in 1912. Diplomatic relations with Morocco as an independent state therefore came to an end, and diplomatic affairs were handled through the embassy in France. This state of affairs lasted until the 1950s, when anti-colonial forces in Morocco rose up in the Revolution of the King and the People, and secured Moroccan independence by 1956. The Soviet Union moved to establish diplomatic relations, with a formal agreement to exchange ambassadors on 1 September 1958. The first Soviet ambassador, Dmitri Pozhidaev, was appointed on 11 October 1958, and presented his letter of credence on 5 November 1958. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Kingdom of Morocco recognised the Russian Federation as its successor on 30 December 1991. Representatives have continued to be appointed between the two countries since this time.
List of representatives (1897–present) Russian Empire to the Sultanate of Morocco (1897–1912) NameTitleAppointmentTerminationNotesMinister-Resident and Consul-General4 December 18971906Minister-Resident and Consul-General19071912Envoy19121912
Soviet Union to the Kingdom of Morocco (1958–1991) NameTitleAppointmentTerminationNotesDmitri PozhidaevAmbassador11 October 195820 July 1962Letter of credence 5 November 1958 Ambassador20 July 196213 August 1965Letter of credence 31 October 1962 Luka PalamarchukAmbassador13 August 196525 October 1972Letter of credence 4 November 1965Ambassador25 October 197226 December 1973Letter of credence 12 December 1972Ambassador26 December 19733 October 1978Letter of credence 29 January 1974Ambassador3 October 197824 December 1983Letter of credence 24 January 1979Ambassador24 December 19831990Letter of credence 25 July 1984 Ambassador199025 December 1991
Russian Federation to the Kingdom of Morocco (1991–present) NameTitleAppointmentTerminationNotesAmbassador25 December 19912 November 1992 Ambassador16 December 199231 December 1999Ambassador31 December 199917 February 2004Ambassador17 February 200427 August 2008Ambassador27 August 20084 July 2013Ambassador4 July 201324 April 2018Valerian ShuvaevAmbassador24 April 201827 May 2022Ambassador27 May 2022
See also List of ambassadors of Morocco to Russia
References