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Muhammad Ben Abdessalam al-Muqri | |
|---|---|
محمد بن عبد السلام المقري | |
 Muhammad al-Muqri on the front page ofLe Petit Journal August 8, 1925 | |
| Born | February 2 ,1854 (1854) |
| Died | September 9, 1957(1957-09-09) (aged 103) Rabat, Morocco |
| Known for | Treaty of Algeciras |
| Title | Grand Vizier (الصدر الأعظم) |
| Predecessor | Madani El Glaoui |
Haj Muhammad Ben Abdessalam al-Muqri (Arabic:الحاج محمد بن عبد السلام المقري, February 2, 1854[1] – September 9, 1957), alternatively transcribed asMohammed El Mokri, was a seniorMoroccan official of the late 19th and early 20th century. He was an adviser andgrand vizier to severalsultans of Morocco, including underFrenchcolonial domination.[2]
Muhammad Al-Muqri came from a well-known family whose descendants successively held government portfolios in Morocco. They trace their lineage back to 16th and 17th century historian and statesmanAhmed al-Moqri who, coming fromTlemcen inAlgeria, had settled inFes then inMarrakesh to serve underSaadi SultanAhmed Al-Mansur Al-Dhahabi. Muhammad al-Moqri was born inOujda[3] (February 1851) to Abdesallam al-Moqri (1830–1903), who held the position ofLamin ofMoulay Hafid, and aFassi woman from the Zghari family.[4]
He began his career in government during the reign ofMuhammad IV of Morocco, the father ofHassan I of Morocco. During this period of time, al-Muqri is alleged to have attended the opening of theSuez Canal where he met with EmperorNapoleon III and EmpressEugénie in 1869.[5] After the death of Hassan I, sultan,Abd al-Aziz seized the throne.
At that time, Al Muqri was the country's representative to the 1906Algeciras Conference at whichGermany's demand for a say in Moroccan affairs was rejected in favor ofFrance andSpain. In recognition of his efforts to resolve theMoroccan Crisis leading up to the international conference, Abd al-Aziz appointed al-Muqri as his Minister of Finance and in 1908, hisSadr A'atham [ar] (صدر أعظم) or Grand Vizier, a post he would hold on and off under each of the succeeding sultans until 1955.
In 1909, the new sultanAbd Al-Hafid demoted him to the post of Minister of Finance but promoted him again to Grand Vizier in 1911. Al-Muqri resigned the post two years later, but was reappointed to it by SultanYusef, and was kept in the position by his successor, SultanMuhammad ben Youssef, when he ascended the throne in 1927. In 1953, when Muhammad ben Youssef was deposed by the French for nationalist agitation and replaced by his uncle, the Frenchpuppet monarchMuhammad Ben Arafa, the colonial authorities decided to keep al-Muqri in his position. Once independence was promised, Ben Arafa abdicated, and al-Muqri was chosen by colonial authorities to head the Regency, among other dignitaries such as Pacha Fatmi Benslimane, until the exiled Sultan Muhammad could return to the country and assume the throne.
Al-Muqri (sometimes spelledEl Mokri) left politics in 1955, shortly before Morocco gained its independence. He died two years later, "penniless and dishonored" for having backedMohammed Ben Aarafa.[5] He was purportedly acentenarian.[5]
After his death his residence inRabat (known asDar el Mokri) became an infamous location of detention and torture in the 1950s, 60s and up to the 1970s, during what was termed as theYears of Lead.
Muhammad al-Muqri married three women (one Algerian and two Moroccan) with whom he had five sons and a daughter, all born during 1890–1900:[4]
It is claimed that al-Moqri died at the reputed age of 112, according to theGuinness Book of World Records, or even of 116, according to other sources. Both figures are doubtful. There are no birth records or other evidence for these claims. It is rare to attain such an age and unheard of to be head of government at 110 or 114. John Gunther's bookInside Africa (published 1955) says he was born in 1851: other sources list his birth year as 1854. Vermeren gives 1860.[4] The Britannica Book of the Year gives his birthdate as February 1841.