Arif was elected as secretary of the NPC board, while Alison Fitzgerald Kodjak was elected the 112th president of the Club.

He is the first Arab, first African and one of the few non-Americans to be elected to the board of this prestigious institution.

Arif said he is “honored to serve on the National Press Club", noting that this "confidence shows, in a broader context, Morocco’s privileged place, under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, within the various US authorities, be they executive, legislative or the world of media and opinion leaders."

Also elected in Friday's Club elections were: Michael Freedman as vice president and Peter Urban as treasurer.

Elected to the Board of Governors were: Lisa Matthews of the Associated Press, Ferdous Al-Faruque of MedTech Insight, Emily Wilkins of Bloomberg BNA, Del Quentin Wilber of the Los Angeles Times, freelance journalist Antonella Ciancio, and Danny Selnick of Business Wire.

The Club, which was founded in 1908, includes thousands of members worldwide.