Hussein Khodja

Hussein Khodja (Arabic: حسين خوجة; born Giuseppe Certa in Favignana and died 1857 in Tunis) was a Tunisian politician and a mamluk of Italian origin who rose to become Prime Minister of Tunisia.

He then appeared as a perfect courtier but a poor administrator, allied to the rich tax farmer of the State, Mahmoud Djellouli.

Despite this, he remained an intellectual and spent a lot to stock his rich library which subsequently enriched that of the Zaytuna Mosque.

The bey also entrusted him with the management of his personal property and the export operations in partnership with Djellouli but, during the drought which affected the country, he found himself at the mercy of the many European creditors who had bought him large quantities of oil in advance, through a very risky commercial process.

He was removed from power in 1829 and replaced by the ambitious Keeper of the Seals, Rashid al-Shakir Sahib al-Taba'a, whose influence became predominant.