Gholam Reza Azhari

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Gholam Reza Azhari
ارتشبد غلامرضا ازهاری
Azhari.jpg
73rd Prime Minister of Iran
In office
6 November 1978 – 4 January 1979
Monarch Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi
Preceded by Jafar Sharif-Emami
Succeeded by Shapour Bakhtiar
Personal details
Born 1917
Shiraz, Iran
Died 5 November 2001 (aged 92)
McLean, Virginia, United States
Alma mater National War College
Religion Shia Islam

Gholam Reza Azhari (Persian: ارتشبد غلامرضا ازهاری‎‎; 1917 – 5 November 2001) was a military leader and Prime Minister of Iran.

Azhari in 1978

Early life and education

Azhari was born in Shiraz in 1917.[1] He was a graduate of Iran's war college. He was also trained at the National War College in Washington in the 1950s.[1]

Career

Azhari worked at the CENTO.[2] He was appointed chief of staff of Iran's armed forces in 1971 and his tenure lasted until 1978.[3] He served as interim prime minister of a military government until a civilian government could be chosen. He served as prime minister from 6 November 1978 to 31 December 1978.[4][5] He formed the first military government in Iran since 1953.[3]

On 21 December 1978, Azhari, then the prime minister, told U.S. Ambassador to Iran William Sullivan that, "You must know this and you must tell it to your government. This country is lost because the Shah cannot make up his mind."[6] Azhari had a heart attack in January 1979[7] and resigned on 2 January.[8] Then he was succeeded by Abbas Gharabaghi as the chief of the army staff.[9] Shapour Bakhtiar succeeded Azhari as prime minister.[9][10] On 18 February 1979 Azhari was retired from army in absence.[11]

Cabinet

His cabinet was composed of 8 members (5 military men and 3 civilians):[12]

However, it is also reported that the government was of eleven men and six of them were military officers.[13]

Honours

Later years and death

Azhari suffered a heart attack while serving as prime minister.[7] After leaving office he went to the US in January 1979 for heart surgery at Bethesda Naval Hospital.[7] After surgery he did not return to Iran and settled in McLean, Virginia.[7] In the immediate aftermath of the revolution, Ayatollah Sadegh Khalkhali, a religious judge and then chairman of the Revolutionary Court, informed the press that the death sentence was passed on the members of the Pahlavi family and former Shah officials, including Azhari.[14]

He died of cancer in McLean, Virginia, the US, on 5 November 2001.[7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Sullivan, William H. Mission to Iran. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1981. p. 212.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.  – via Questia (subscription required)
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.  – via Questia (subscription required)
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

Sources

  • 'Alí Rizā Awsatí (عليرضا اوسطى), Iran in the Past Three Centuries (Irān dar Se Qarn-e Goz̲ashteh - ايران در سه قرن گذشته), Volumes 1 and 2 (Paktāb Publishing - انتشارات پاکتاب, Tehran, Iran, 2003). ISBN 964-93406-6-1 (Vol. 1), ISBN 964-93406-5-3 (Vol. 2).
Political offices
Preceded by Prime Minister of Iran
1978–1979		 Succeeded by
Shapour Bakhtiar
Military offices
Preceded by
Abbas Ghare-Baghi
 Chief commander of Imperial Army
1971 –1977		 Succeeded by
Feridoun Jam
  1. REDIRECT Template:Prime ministers of Iran
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