The King Of Cool

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The King quickly admits he was a little lost after his father's unexpected death from a heart attack last July at age 70. Hassan II could be cold and arrogant, and Moroccans have long gossiped about his relationship with his heir apparent. Mohammed VI gave rare glimpses in the TIME interview, affectionately calling him "Dad" and following up each mention of his father with the words "God bless his soul." Yet within weeks of assuming power, Mohammed VI took up the delicate task of healing the often bloody national wounds that his father had no small part in opening.

One of his first acts was to dismiss unceremoniously Driss Basri, the powerful Interior Minister whom Moroccans blame for some of the brutal excesses during Hassan II's 38-year reign. The new King also set up a commission to provide $4 million in compensation to victims of political torture in what Mohammed VI calls "moral recognition toward all of these people." He green-lighted the return of exiles, like the family of Mehdi Ben Barka, a friend turned opponent of his father's allegedly murdered by agents in Paris. Last year Mohammed VI sent a secret emissary to France to arrange the return of Morocco's most famous political refugee, Abraham Serfaty, a Marxist who spent 17 years in prison before being deported in 1991. Today Serfaty lives in a seaside villa courtesy of the palace. "Hassan II was feudal," says Serfaty. "But Mohammed VI is modern. He does not have an authoritarian disposition."

The King, Moroccans say, wears his heart on his sleeve. That may be what most distinguishes him from older Arab potentates hardened by careers spent battling colonialists and Israelis. Since his Crown Prince years, he has headed a foundation for helping the handicapped. These days his popularity soars with every visit to another city or town, where he alarms his bodyguards by working the excited throngs. While some Moroccans worry at his disregard for security, that openness has been an essential part of his more modern, approachable rule. "I feel the need to meet the people and see how they live," the King explains. "When I wave at people, I try not to greet the crowd but to greet people individually, to make eye contact."

The King's travels help reconcile the monarchy with his father's ex-enemies. His symbolic first tour last year took him to the northern Rif mountains, where Hassan II once crushed a revolt and called tribesmen "dirty, ignorant beggars." Thousands turned out to cheer his son, who was practically moved to tears.

The King hasn't quite reconciled with Morocco's Muslim fundamentalists, but he is trying. He recently ordered the release of Sheik Abdessalam Yassine after 10 years of house arrest. Hassan II hounded the Islamist leader for years, even putting him in a mental hospital after Yassine wrote an open letter to the King denouncing his alleged unholy behavior. Mohammed VI acted, even though Yassine continues to question the King's religious authority.