Aḥmad bin Mūsa bin Aḥmad al-Sharqī al-Bukhārī (), known as Bā Aḥmad () or Bā Ḥmād (), was ( Grand Wazir) of

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

and de facto ruler of the kingdom between 1894 and 1900. He became the country's true regent, after enthroning the son of Hassan I, Abd al-Aziz, as sultan, who was a child at the time, despite there being older siblings. He favoured Abd al-Aziz as he was responsible for his education. He died on 17 May 1900 and was buried in the royal mausoleum of Moulay Ali al-Sharif. His death meant that a young Abd al-Aziz could have more power leading to his lavish spending widening the trade deficit. His grandfather was born as a black slave belonging to Moulay Slimane but he became his ''hajib''. Similarly, Ba Ahmed's father became the ''hajib'' of Muhammad IV then grand vizier under Hassan I. He had a miserable reputation but was very wealthy. He began the construction of the Bahia Palace. He had several children including Ba Ahmed. Ba Ahmed first became ''hajib'' to Moulay Ismail who was the ''khalifa'' in Fez of his brother Hassan I then ''hajib'' of Hassan I. He became grand wizier when Abd al-Aziz inherited at the age of 14 and leaving him to his childish pleasures, Ba Ahmed was able to exercise real power in the state and prevented Morocco from falling into anarchy. Ba Ahmed's descendants, as members of the French colonial elite with strong links to the palace, continue to this day to play a key role in the political and economic life of Morocco. One of his grandsons, Chakib Benmoussa, has held several high profile posts under the current king of Morocco, Mohammed VI, who appointed him first as CEO of one his companies ( SONASID) then as Minister of the Interior then head of the ''Conseil Economique et Social'' and then ambassador to France. He was responsible for expanding the Bahia Palace begun by his father. He had everything built on the ground floor because he was "short and fat". He enlarged the Bahia on the site of some 60 houses and purchased 16 gardens to form its parkland. He also constructed in

Marrakesh Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...

the reservoir of the Agdal which bears his name along with other public works in the towns.

References

1840 births 1900 deaths History of Marrakesh 19th-century Moroccan people Grand viziers People from Marrakesh Moroccan politicians {{Morocco-bio-stub