Hussein Khodja

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Hussein Khodja (Arabic: حسين خوجة; born Giuseppe Certa, around 1780–1857) was a Tunisian politician of Italian origin. He was captured on Favignana by Tunisian corsairs, brought to the minister Youssef Saheb Ettabaa, raised as a Muslim, educated, and served as his lieutenant. After Ettabaa’s fall in 1815, he joined crown prince Hussein as Bach-Mamluk, head of the private mamluk guard, and married Hussein’s daughter, Princess Lalla Kebira.

In 1822, Mahmoud Bey appointed him prime minister, a position Hussein confirmed in 1824 when he became Bey. He was seen as a skilled courtier but a weak administrator, allied with the wealthy tax farmer Mahmoud Djellouli. He was learned and built a substantial library, contributing to the Zaytuna Mosque. He oversaw the bey’s personal property and export business with Djellouli, but during a drought faced pressure from European creditors who had prepaid for oil.

He was removed in 1829 and replaced by Rashid al-Shakir Sahib al-Taba’a. The bey confiscated his property and placed him under house arrest in the Bardo Palace. He lived there until his death in 1857 in Tunis.