Mohammed Khaznadar Explained

Mohammed Khaznadar
Birth Date:c. 1810
Birth Place:Kos, Ottoman Greece
Death Place:La Marsa, French Tunisia
Nationality:Tunisian
Office:Prime Minister of Tunisia
Term Start:21 July 1878
Term End:24 August 1878
Predecessor:Kheireddine Pacha
Successor:Mustapha Ben Ismaïl
Term Start1:12 September 1881
Term End1:October 1882
Monarch1:Muhammad III
Predecessor1:Mustapha Ben Ismaïl
Successor1:Mohammed Aziz Bouattour
Spouse:Lalla Mannana Cherif

Mohammed Khaznadar (Arabic: محمد خزندار; born around 1810 on the island of Kos (modern Greece)[1] and died on 1889 at La Marsa[1] was a Tunisian politician.

Biography

A Mamluk of Greek origin, he was captured in a raid and bought as a slave by the Bey of Tunis: Hussein II Bey.[1]

Later on he became treasurer to Chakir Saheb Ettabaâ and was qaid of Sousse and Monastir from 1838. He remained for fifty years in one post or another in the service of five successive beys. In November 1861 he was named Minister of the Interior, then Minister of War in December 1862, Minister of the Navy in September 1865, Minister of the Interior again in October 1873 and finally Prime Minister and President of the International Financial Commission from 22 July 1877 to 24 August 1878. He retained also the title of minister and the functions of a councillor of state and returned to the vizierate on 12 September 1881.[1] He retired from public life to his properties at La Marsa and Sidi Bou Said in the autumn of 1882, after the establishment of the French protectorate of Tunisia, leaving behind the impression of a self-sacrificing and loyal statesman.[1]

He is unrelated to his contemporary Mustapha Khaznadar; Khaznadar (Arabic: خزندار) is a surname meaning "Treasurer". Such surnames were derived from a person's original job, most well-known job, or their geographic origin.

Notes and References

  1. Jean Ganiage, Les origines du Protectorat français en Tunisie (1861-1881), éd. Maison tunisienne de l'édition, Tunis, 1968, p. 592