In 1015/6 he was appointed head of the dīwān al-nafaḳāt (bureau of expenditure), before rising to the post of wāsiṭa (the official intermediary between Caliph and the people) in 1021/2, and finally achieving the post of vizier in 1027. He held the post under the caliphs Ali az-Zahir and al-Mustansir until his death in March 1045.[1]