Chief of translation in the Turkish Foreign Office born at Salonica in 1845. Da'ud is of humble parentage. His family settled in Constantinople while he was still a boy, and he received his elementary education at the Camondo Institution. Attached to the service of the Foreign Office at the age of 18, he rose to the position of translator-in-chief during the reign of Sultan 'Abd al-'Aziz, and retained that post when 'Abd al-Ḥamid II. ascended the throne.
Da'ud has been decorated with the Grand Cordon of the Order of Nishan-i-Osmanie, that of the Nishan-i-Medjidie and that of the Nishan-i-Imtiaz, and with the Persian Order of the Sun and Lion. Da'ud is also a commander of the Legion of Honor, and has been decorated with the Order of the Crown of Prussia.