| Ismaïl Khelil | |
| Native Name Lang: | ar |
| Nationality: | Tunisian |
| Office: | Tunisian Ambassador to the United States |
| Term Start: | 6 March 1991 |
| Term End: | 11 April 1991 |
| Predecessor: | Abdelaziz Hamzaoui |
| Successor: | Azouz Ennifar |
| Order1: | Minister of Foreign Affairs |
| Term Start1: | 3 March 1990 |
| Term End1: | 28 August 1990 |
| Predecessor1: | Abdelhamid Escheikh |
| Successor1: | Habib Boularès |
| Order2: | Governor of the Central Bank of Tunisia |
| Term Start2: | 27 October 1987 |
| Term End2: | 3 March 1990 |
| Predecessor2: | Mohamed Skhiri |
| Successor2: | Mohamed El Béji Hamda |
| Order3: | Minister of Finance |
| Term Start3: | 8 July 1986 |
| Term End3: | 27 October 1987 |
| Predecessor3: | Rachid Sfar |
| Successor3: | Nouri Zorgati |
| Order4: | Minister of Regional Development |
| Term Start4: | 18 June 1983 |
| Term End4: | 27 October 1987 |
| Predecessor4: | Mansour Moalla |
| Successor4: | Mohamed Ghannouchi |
| Birth Date: | 11 July 1932 |
| Birth Place: | Gafsa, Tunisia |
| Party: | Socialist Destourian Party |
Ismaïl Khelil (11 July 1932 – 20 November 2017) was a Tunisian politician.[1]
After studying at the University of Grenoble, where he obtained a license, he worked as a secretary at the Tunisian embassy in Rome from 1957 to 1960 and then as an advisor at the Tunisian embassy in Washington until 1964. He then became mayor of Gafsa (1966-1969) and ambassador of Tunisia in London (1969-1972) and Brussels (1972-1978), then director general of international cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1978-1979). He also directed the airline Tunisair between 1979 and 1980 and joined the World Bank as executive director between 1980 and 1984.
He occupied the functions of Minister of Planning between June 18, 1983 and October 27, 1987 and Minister of Finance between July 8, 1986 and October 27, 1987, in a difficult economic climate caused by the indebtedness then known the country . He hands over his portfolios following a government reshuffle initiated by the new Prime Minister Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali.
He was then appointed governor of the Central Bank of Tunisia, a position he retains upon Ben Ali's accession to the presidency of the Tunisia until 3 March 1990.[2] He then briefly served as minister of finance. Foreign Affairs from March 3 to August 28, 1990. He then became Ambassador of Tunisia to the United States on March 6, 1991.
After completing his responsibilities in Washington in 1994, he worked in the private sector, as an adviser to Amen Bank and as chairman of the board of the Mediterranean Insurance and Reinsurance Company.
In Washington, he was elected member of the Cosmos Club.