Hamid Barrada, prominent Moroccan journalist, dies at 87

Renowned Moroccan journalist and intellectual Hamid Barrada has passed away at the age of 87. Born in Tangier in 1939, Barrada leaves behind a significant legacy spanning journalism, politics, and academia.

Barrada’s career was marked by high-profile roles, including serving as the editor-in-chief of the francophone weekly Jeune Afrique between 1974 and 1985. He also held the position of Maghreb/Middle East director for the French-language channel TV5. In Morocco, he became a household name through his long-running cultural talk show ‘Mais Encore ?’, which aired on 2M from 2007 to 2018.

His early life was defined by political activism; he served as president of the National Union of Moroccan Students in 1962 and was sentenced to death in absentia in 1963, leading to a period of exile in Algeria and France before his return to Morocco in 1978. A scholar with degrees in philosophy, law, and political sociology, Barrada was known for conducting historic interviews with major figures, including the late King Hassan II.

In 2025, he published ‘Anthology of Dialogues’, a collection documenting his extensive journalistic work from 1977 to 2012.