Mustapha Ben Ismaïl (; born around 1850 in

Bizerte Bizerte (, ) is the capital and largest city of Bizerte Governorate in northern Tunisia. It is the List of northernmost items, northernmost city in Africa, located north of the capital Tunis. It is also known as the last town to remain under Fr ...

and died in 1887 in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

)Ammar Mahjoubi, Khaled Belkhodja et Abdelmajid Ennabli, ''Histoire générale de la Tunisie'', Vol. III « Les temps modernes », éd. Sud Éditions, Tunis, 2007, p. 431 was a

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. His origin is obscure and few details are known of his youth. Some hostile sources make him the son of a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

convert and an unknown Tunisian man, with his mother remarrying to a Muslim and settling in

Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

. Subsequently, he is meant to have begged on the streets of the capital, worked in a Maltese tavern and then for a barber, before being hired by an offer of the guard of the

Bey of Tunis Bey, also spelled as Baig, Bayg, Beigh, Beig, Bek, Baeg, Begh, or Beg, is a Turkic languages, Turkic title for a chieftain, and a royal, aristocratic title traditionally applied to people with special lineages to the leaders or rulers of various ...

, who brought him into the palace. There he is said to have been noticed by

Muhammad III as-Sadiq Muhammad III as-Sadiq (; 7 February 1813 – 27 October 1882) commonly known as Sadok Bey (), was the Husainid Bey of Tunis from 1859 until his death. Invested as Bey al-Mahalla (Heir Apparent) on 10 June 1855, he succeeded his brother Muhamm ...

at the beginning of his reign. The Bey appointed him Intendant of his Civil List, a general of his guard, and

Qaid Qaid ( ', "commander"; pl. ', or '), also spelled kaid or caïd, is a word meaning "commander" or "leader." It was a title in the Normans, Norman kingdom of Sicily, applied to palatine officials and members of the ''curia'', usually to thos ...

Cap Bon Cape Bon ("Good Cape"), also known as Res et-Teib (), Shrīk Peninsula, or Watan el Kibli, is a peninsula in far northeastern Tunisia. Cape Bon is also the name of the northernmost point on the peninsula, also known as Res ed-Der, and known in ant ...

. His influence is discernable from the end of 1872 and grew without pause. After he contributed to the fall of Mustapha Khaznadar, he became Minister of the Navy in October 1873, in the government of

Hayreddin Pasha Hayreddin Pasha (; 1820 – 30 January 1890) was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman-Tunisian statesman and reformer, who was born to an Abkhazians, Abkhazian family. First serving as Prime Minister of Tunisia, Prime Minister of the Beylik of Tunis, he ...

, then Minister of the Interior and member of the International Financial Commission in July 1877, and finally

Grand Vizier Grand vizier (; ; ) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. It was first held by officials in the later Abbasid Caliphate. It was then held in the Ottoman Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Soko ...

on 24 August 1878 - a post which he held until 12 September 1881. During his vizierate, Ben Ismaïl stirred up the anger of the Bey against Hayreddin's reforms and policy of court austerity. Little by little Ben Ismaïl gained the majority of Hayreddin's property as it was confiscated by the Bey. Influenced by the French consul, Ben Ismaïl began to support the development of French enterprise in Tunisia, then became more favourable towards the

Italians Italians (, ) are a European peoples, European ethnic group native to the Italian geographical region. Italians share a common Italian culture, culture, History of Italy, history, Cultural heritage, ancestry and Italian language, language. ...

, France's competitors, from 1880. The establishment of the

French protectorate of Tunisia The French protectorate of Tunisia (; '), officially the Regency of Tunis () and commonly referred to as simply French Tunisia, was established in 1881, during the French colonial empire era, and lasted until Tunisian independence in 1956. T ...

and the death of Sadok Bey in 1882 ruined his career, but he managed to retain a small part of his fortune and fled to Istanbul, where he became obscure. He died almost completely destitute according to the French historian Jean Ganiage. However, he appears to have financially supported the first Tunisian nationalist exiles after the establishment of the protectorate, with whom he retained some contacts, which argues against the idea that he was in financial difficulty, as do his favourable connections with the Ottoman state.Andreas Tunger-Zanetti, ''La communication entre Tunis et Istanbul, 1860-1913 : province et métropole'', éd. L'Harmattan, Paris, 1996

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ben Ismail, Mustapha 1850s births Year of birth uncertain 1887 deaths People from Bizerte Prime ministers of Tunisia Interior ministers of Tunisia Navy ministers of Tunisia Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint-Charles