Ali Shayegan ( fa, علی شایگان, ʿAli Šāygān; March 1, 1903 – May 15, 1981), was an Iranian politician and an opponent of

Shah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi , title = Shahanshah Aryamehr Bozorg Arteshtaran , image = File:Shah_fullsize.jpg , caption = Shah in 1973 , succession = Shah of Iran , reign = 16 September 1941 – 11 February 1979 , coronation = 26 October ...

and lived in political exile in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

from 1958. Shayegan, one of the leaders of the National Front of Iran, was also a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

, the Minister of Education and a close aide to

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Mohammed Mossadegh Mohammad Mosaddegh ( fa, محمد مصدق, ; 16 June 1882 – 5 March 1967) was an Iranian politician, author, and lawyer who served as the 35th Prime Minister of Iran from 1951 to 1953, after appointment by the 16th Majlis. He was a member of ...

, whose government was overthrown by army officers loyal to the

in 1953 in a coup d'état orchestrated by the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...

. Following the coup, Hossein Fatemi, also a leader in the National Front and close associate of Shayegan was executed. Shayegan was initially sentenced to life imprisonment and then to ten years. After three years he was exiled to Europe and later came to America. He organized the

Iranian National Front in Exile The National Front of Iran ( fa, جبهه‌ ملی ایران, Jebhe-ye Melli-ye Irân) is an opposition political organization in Iran, founded by Mohammad Mosaddegh in 1949. It is the oldest and arguably the largest pro-democracy group operat ...

in New York in the late 1950s and helped in the formation of the

Confederation of Iranian Students Confederation of Iranian Students National Union ( fa, کنفدراسیون جهانی محصلین و دانشجویان ایرانی – اتحادیه ملی; ''Konfederāsīūn-e jahānī-e moḥaṣṣelīn wa dānešjūyān-e īrānī ette� ...

. While in exile, he taught at the

New School of Social Research The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and at

Fairleigh Dickinson University Fairleigh Dickinson University is a private university with its main campuses in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Founded in 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University currently offers more than 100 degree programs to its students. In addition to its tw ...

in Teaneck, New Jersey. After the fall of the Shah in 1979, Shayegan returned to Iran and was mentioned as a possible candidate for the Presidency. He declined any nominations and took a stand against the Islamic Republic. In 1981, he returned to the United States, where he died shortly thereafter. A resident of

River Edge, New Jersey River Edge is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the borough’s population was 12,049, reflecting a 6.3% increase from the 11,340 enumera ...

, he died at the

Pascack Valley Hospital Pascack Valley Hospital (PVH) is a former 291-bed hospital, located at 250 Old Hook Road, Westwood, New Jersey. History Pascack Valley Hospital opened on June 1, 1959, as an 86-bed community hospital. It underwent several expansions and grew to ...

in Westwood, New Jersey, after suffering a stroke, and his body was moved to Tehran to be buried.Treaster, Joseph B
"ALI SHAYEGAN, AN EXILE WHO FOUGHT THE SHAH AND AIDED MOSSADEGH"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', May 16, 1981. Accessed October 28, 2015. "His health began to deteriorate and he returned to his home in River Edge, N.J., in September 1979."

References

* 1903 births 1981 deaths Government ministers of Iran Education ministers Shayegan People from River Edge, New Jersey Iranian expatriates in the United States Iranian expatriates in France National Front (Iran) MPs Democrat Party of Iran politicians Members of the 16th Iranian Majlis Members of the 17th Iranian Majlis University of Lyon alumni University of Paris alumni {{iran-bio-stub