Mustapha Ourrad (June 21, 1954 – January 7, 2015) was a French Algerian

copy editor Copy editing (also known as copyediting and manuscript editing) is the process of revising written material (copy) to improve readability and fitness, as well as ensuring that text is free of grammatical and factual errors. ''The Chicago Manual of ...

, killed during the 2015 ''Charlie Hebdo'' shooting.

Biography

Mustapha Ourrad was born in 1954 in Aït Larbâa,

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

. Orphaned after his mother died when he was 2 and his father when he was 7, Ourrad was taken in and raised by two of his uncles. After completing secondary school, he began studying medicine in

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

before abandoning it. He was much more interested in culture—be it art, literature, or philosophy. ( Nietzsche was one of his favorite philosophers.) One of his favorite books was

Albert Cossery Albert Cossery (3 November 1913 – 22 June 2008) was an Egyptian-born French writer. Although Cossery lived most of his life in Paris and only wrote in the French language, all of his novels were either set in his country of birth, Egypt, or in ...

's '' Mendiants et orgueilleux'', and his childhood friend Ousmer later said Ourrad also loved André Gide, André Malraux, and

Charles Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poetry, French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist and art critic. His poems exhibit mastery in the handling of rhyme and rhythm, contain an exoticis ...

, which earned him the nickname "Mustapha Baudelaire." He left Algeria at age 20 and arrived in France in 1974, with his friends paying for his passage. He became a

French citizen French nationality law is historically based on the principles of '' jus soli'' (Latin for "right of soil") and '' jus sanguinis'', according to Ernest Renan's definition, in opposition to the German definition of nationality, ''jus sanguinis'' ...

in December 2014. Ourrad joined the publisher

Hachette Hachette may refer to: * Hachette (surname) * Hachette (publisher), a French publisher, the imprint of Lagardère Publishing ** Hachette Book Group, the American subsidiary ** Hachette Distribution Services, the distribution arm See also * Hachett ...

, where he worked as a copy editor, notably on the Axis

encyclopedia An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...

. He then worked for various publications, including ''Viva'' and ''

Charlie Hebdo ''Charlie Hebdo'' (; meaning ''Charlie Weekly'') is a French satirical weekly magazine, featuring cartoons, reports, polemics, and jokes. Stridently non-conformist in tone, the publication has been described as Anti-racism, anti-racist, sceptica ...

''. It was at the latter newspaper's headquarters that he was killed on January 7, 2015, one of the victims of the ''Charlie Hebdo'' shooting. He was posthumously named a Chevalier of the French

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

on December 31, 2015. On January 13, 2016, the first day of the Amazigh year, members of the Kabyle diaspora paid homage to him in Paris. His remains lie at Paris' Père Lachaise Cemetery.

References

{{January 2015 France attacks 1954 births 2015 deaths Algerian editors Charlie Hebdo people French people of Algerian descent Print editors Victims of the Charlie Hebdo shooting Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur