Sīdī Muḥammad Ben Yūsuf was born10 August 1909, in Fès. He succeeded Mawlāy Yūsuf as Sultan of Morocco in 1927. Exiled by the French Protectorate authorities in 1953, he returned to Morocco in triumph in November 1955, leading the nation to independence in 1956. The following year he took the title of king, and ruled until his death on February 26, 1961.