Giuseppe Raffo

Giuseppe Raffo (full name Giuseppe Maria Raffo, born 9 February 1795 in Tunis. Died 2 October 1862 in Paris) was a Tunisian businessman and politician who served on the Supreme Council of the Beylik of Tunis, fulfilling the main functions of a Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Background His father, Giovanni Battista Felice Raffo, born in 1747 near Chiavari in Liguria, was captured and enslaved in 1770 by Barbary pirates. Once freed, he set up a wet house-making business and also served as interpreter to successive beys of Tunis: Ali Bey, Hammouda Pasha and Mahmoud Bay. He married Giovanna Terrazzani, (1760-1823) and left a daughter, Elena Grazia (born 1784) as well as Giuseppe Maria. In 1835 Hussein Bey died and Moustapha succeeded him, making Giuseppe Raffo the bey’s brother in law. Under Hussein Bey Raffo had been a simple kasâk bashi (cloakroom attendant); Moustapha he was given the title of chief interpreter and made a member of the Council of State. Ahmad I, Raffo’s nephew, made him one of his closest advisers, and he exercised in practice the functions of Minister of Foreign Affairs. and of the Catholic Church, which made him a member of the Order of St. Gregory the Great. Raffo was also in contact with supporters of the Italian Risorgimento: he counted among his collaborators the Genoese mazzinian :it:Gaetano Fedriani and he also supported Giuseppe Garibaldi who, at one time, was employed by the Tunisian navy.

On the death of Ahmed bey, reform attempts were led by his successor and cousin, Mohamed bey with whom Raffo also had a close family relation. The sister of his wife, the Sardinian Francesca Benedetta Sanna, converted to Islam and became the new bey’s sixth. During his reign, Raffo contributed to the adoption of the Fundamental Pact of 1857 but, on the death of the sovereign in 1859, he was driven from power by the rising star of Tunisian politics, the former slave of Greek origin, Mustapha Khaznadar, appointed Grand Vizier by Sadok Bey. He was also linked in particular to Raffaele Rubattino's shipping company, amassing a considerable fortune through all of his activities. and Maltese. He built and renovated several places of worship, supported the charitable work of the Capuchin fathers, particularly appreciated by Ahmed bey, and helped philanthropic initiatives in Europe, in particular in his region of origin, Liguria. For example, he financed the reconstruction of the cathedral of Chiavari.