Sidi Mohammed ben Youssef became Sultan of Morocco in 1927 under the French protectorate established in 1912. Through the late 1940s and early 1950s he increasingly aligned himself with the nationalist Istiqlal Party's demands for self-government, refusing French pressure to condemn the independence movement. In August 1953 French authorities deposed him, installing a more compliant relative, Mohammed Ben Arafa, and exiled Mohammed V first to Corsica and then to Madagascar. The exile transformed him into a nationalist symbol and helped spark an armed resistance campaign that, combined with France's mounting difficulties in Indochina and Algeria, forced Paris to allow his return. He came back to Morocco on 16 November 1955 to mass popular acclaim and delivered a speech pledging 'the advent of freedom and independence' while preserving ties with France. Negotiations concluded with the French-Moroccan Joint Declaration of 2 March 1956, ending the protectorate; Spain relinquished its own protectorate zones on 7 April 1956. Restored as sultan and proclaimed king in 1957, Mohammed V worked to unify Morocco's formerly separate French, Spanish and international administrative zones until his sudden death in 1961, after which his son Hassan II succeeded him.
- Lived: 1909 CE – 1961 CE
- Nationality: moroccan
- Roles: Sultan of Morocco (1927-1953, 1955-1957), King of Morocco (1957-1961)
