Mahmoud Agha Bouayed

Mahmoud Agha Bouayed (; 1928 – 27 June 2006) was an Algerian intellectual, historian, academic, and civil servant. He was a major figure in the preservation and promotion of the cultural and historical heritage of Algeria and served as the first director of the National Library of Algeria following the country's independence in 1962.

Biography A native of Tlemcen, Bouayed was born in 1928 into a family deeply involved in Algerian nationalism. His grandfather, Si Mohamed, was a teacher trained at the Franco-Arab school in the early 20th century and was the founding president of the Cercle des nationalistes des jeunes Algériens in Tlemcen in 1907. The nationalist leader Messali Hadj, who was a disciple of Si Mohamed, noted his patriotism in his memoirs. Mahmoud's father, Abdelhamid, served as the president of Football Club Tlemcenien in 1917.

In 1942, Bouayed entered the Franco-Muslim madrasa. During this period, he became active in local cultural associations, joining the "Rachidiyya" theatrical troupe. He later pursued higher education at the University of al-Qarawiyyin in Fez.

Throughout his career, Bouayed held various positions in cultural institutions, higher education, and public administration. As the first director of the National Library of Algeria, In this capacity, he organized international symposia on historical figures such as Messali Hadj and Augustine of Hippo while advocating for the establishment of a Maghrebi research and documentation center.

Bouayed died on the evening of 27 June 2006 and was buried the following day at the El Alia Cemetery in Algiers.

Works His published editions and scholarly works include:

Nazm al-durr wa-l-'iqyan: An edition of an excerpt regarding the history of the Zayyanid kings of Tlemcen by the 15th-century author Al-Tanasi. Al-Musnad al-Sahih al-Hasan: An edition of the manuscript by the historian Ibn Marzuq dedicated to the virtues of the Marinid sultan Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Uthman.