Amir-Abbas Hoveyda ( fa, امیرعباس هویدا, Amīr 'Abbās Hoveyda; 18 February 1919 – 7 April 1979) was an Iranian economist and politician who served as
Prime Minister of Iran from 27 January 1965 to 7 August 1977. He was the longest serving prime minister in Iran's history. He also served as
Deputy Prime Minister
A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president ...
and
Minister of Finance
A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation.
A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...
in
Mansur's cabinet. After the
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dyna ...
, he was tried by the newly established
Revolutionary Court for
"waging war against God" and
"spreading corruption on earth" and executed.
Early life and education
Born in
Tehran
Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
in 1919 to Habibollah Hoveyda (Ayn ol-Molk), a seasoned diplomat, who was mostly active during the latter years of the
Qajar dynasty, and Afsar ol-Moluk, a descendant of the royal family that Hoveyda would serve for much of his adult life. Hoveyda's father was a lapsed adherent of the
Baháʼí Faith
The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the essential worth of all religions and the unity of all people. Established by Baháʼu'lláh in the 19th century, it initially developed in Iran and parts of the ...
and Hoveyda himself was not religious.
He was the nephew of
Abdol Hossein Sardari
Abdol Hossein Sardari ( fa, عبدالحسین سرداری; 1914–1981) was an Iranian diplomat. He is credited with saving thousands of Jews in Europe, He has since been known as “The Iranian Schindler” or "The Schindler of Iran".
Ear ...
, also known as "
Schindler of Iran". Because of the responsibilities borne by diplomats such as Ayn ol-Molk, the Hoveyda family was never fixed in one residence for any prolonged length of time. Studying in various countries gave Hoveyda a unique cosmopolitan flair that would remain being his most enduring characteristic. During the family's stay in
Beirut
Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
,
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...
, Hoveyda attended
Lycée Français
The Agency for French Education Abroad, or Agency for French Teaching Abroad, (french: Agence pour l'enseignement français à l'étranger; abbreviation: AEFE), is a national public agency under the administration of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ...
, an institution affiliated with the French government. His love for France and its culture are rooted in his tutelage at the lycée. French literary works by the likes of
André Gide
André Paul Guillaume Gide (; 22 November 1869 – 19 February 1951) was a French author and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature (in 1947). Gide's career ranged from its beginnings in the symbolist movement, to the advent of anticolonialism ...
,
André Malraux
Georges André Malraux ( , ; 3 November 1901 – 23 November 1976) was a French novelist, art theorist, and Minister of Culture (France), minister of cultural affairs. Malraux's novel ''La Condition Humaine'' (Man's Fate) (1933) won the Prix Go ...
,
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and worl ...
, and
Baudelaire, captivated the young Hoveyda and gave way for his intellectual growth. Some pundits suggest that it was Hoveyda's intellectual prowess which initially attracted him into the
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 ...
's folds.
Hoveyda's desire to attend a French university in 1938 made the young student jump the gun by entering the country of his dreams without completing specific high school prerequisites required for entry. Cited as being the main reason behind Hoveyda's organizational miscalculation was the possibility of military action by an ostensibly belligerent
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
. Any future occupation of the country would have hindered his chances of attending a French university. Stranded in France, Hoveyda decided to complete the required high school credits in London, England, a city that would come to depress the young man. Aside from completing his educational requisites, Hoveyda was able to sharpen his command of the English language. His ability to communicate in several languages, including Persian, French, English, Italian, German, and Arabic, helped him climb the political ladder later on in life. Hoveyda's return to France in 1939 would be short lived, nevertheless, due to a brewing diplomatic scuffle between the French government and
Reza Shah Pahlavi
,
, spouse = Maryam Savadkoohi Tadj ol-Molouk Ayromlu (queen consort)Turan AmirsoleimaniEsmat Dowlatshahi
, issue = Princess Hamdamsaltaneh Princess ShamsMohammad Reza Shah Princess Ashraf Prince Ali Reza Prince Gholam Reza Prin ...
. Having no choice but to leave France again, Hoveyda enrolled at the
Free University of Brussels University of Brussels may refer to several institutions in Brussels, Belgium: Current institutions
* Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), a French-speaking university established as a separate entity in 1970
*Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), a D ...
in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
, Belgium, during the same year. His stay at the university would be markedly ephemeral because of the effects of the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
Blitzkrieg which used Belgian territory as an entry route into France. After being displaced for a short time, Hoveyda was able to return to the Belgian university, obtaining a bachelor's degree in
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
in 1941, under the ever-watchful eye of the occupying
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
administration.
Military and public service
Upon his return to Iran in 1942, Hoveyda rested for a few months before enlisting as a soldier in Iran's national army. His plan at the time was to use his experience as a conscript to supplement his seniority at the foreign ministry where he applied for employment prior to being drafted. Because of his higher education, Hoveyda was able to bypass boot camp and directly enter the Officer's Academy. Iran's modern
Prime Ministers
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 no ...
, until that point, were able to avoid military service, but Hoveida voluntarily chose to enlist. Although rooted in aristocracy himself, Hoveyda's decision is portentous in the sense that resources that were readily available for his predecessors were often scarce for the young government official.
The Foreign Ministry dispatched a message eight months later confirming Hoveyda's appointment. To some, the quick application process is evidence enough to suggest that there were influential forces that helped expedite Hoveyda's subsequent employment. These claims, however, are often based on hearsay rather than substantiated facts. During his time in the Ministry, Hoveyda befriended many elements of Iranian high society, including the likes of
Sadeq Hedayat and
Sadeq Chubak. His affinity for the country's intelligentsia is clearly observed in his earlier strategy as
PM. By trying to consolidate the partnership between the monarchial regime and the intellectual opposition, Hoveyda believed that the incremental reforms he desired would bear fruit. Others like
Jalal al-e Ahmad, writer and social and political critic, saw Hoveyda's 'infiltration' of Iran's intellectual ranks as a form of sycophancy. On the other hand,
Hedayat and other eccentric characters were quick to identify and repel opportunists who were attempting to leech off their social status. Hedayat and others never distanced themselves from Hoveyda, symbolizing the latter's authenticity.
As Hoveyda garnered more experience, opportunities within Iran's governmental apparatus were becoming available to him. In August 1944, for instance, he accepted a position to accompany
Zein ol-Abedin Rahnema, Iran's minister
plenipotentiary
A ''plenipotentiary'' (from the Latin ''plenus'' "full" and ''potens'' "powerful") is a diplomat who has full powers—authorization to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of his or her sovereign. When used as a noun more generally, the wor ...
, to France. Being an avid
Francophile
A Francophile, also known as Gallophile, is a person who has a strong affinity towards any or all of the French language, French history, French culture and/or French people. That affinity may include France itself or its history, language, cuisin ...
, Hoveyda would enjoy his time as an embassy official, but he would soon be entangled in an international scandal that would taint him for the rest of his life. The "
Paris Story
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
" recounts the illegal importation of financial assets, stored in
Swiss banks
Banking in Switzerland dates to the early eighteenth century through Switzerland's merchant trade and has, over the centuries, grown into a complex, regulated, and international industry. Banking is seen as emblematic of Switzerland, along with ...
during the war for security purposes, from Switzerland into the coffers of wealthy
French businessmen in 1945. To avoid border taxes, diplomatic personnel were persuaded to act as the intermediary, simply because embassy vehicles were, by law, unable to be searched. Although Hoveida never had anything to do with the illegal transfers, his mere association with some of those indicted was enough for him to be used as a
scapegoat in the affair.
Aside from experience,
patronage from the likes of
Abdullah Entezam
Abdollah Entezam was an Iranian Diplomat (alternatively: Seyed Abdollah Entezam), son of Seyed Mohamad also known as "Binesh Ali", leader of Safi Ali Shahi order of dervishes in Iran. His father was also a diplomat.
Older brother of Nasrollah Entez ...
, an independent minded diplomat of "sterling reputation", served to aid Hoveida's ascendance to the upper echelons of public office. With the government of
Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi ( fa, محمدرضا پهلوی, ; 26 October 1919 – 27 July 1980), also known as Mohammad Reza Shah (), was the last ''Shah'' (King) of the Imperial State of Iran from 16 September 1941 until his overthrow in the Irani ...
, the
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 ...
(king) of Iran, the only way to obtain high ranking positions in any societal position was through crucial internal patronage, reinforcement Hoveyda sufficiently lacked prior to working with
Entezam. The two first got to work together when Hoveyda was stationed in
Stuttgart,
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
. While there in 1947, Hoveyda was assigned with the task of negotiating over deals made between Iran and Germany. The most notable case involved Iran's purchase of factory equipment required for the construction of a steel mill, in which the transaction of the material components were never successfully completed.
In 1950, Hoveyda returned to an ever-changing Iran once again. This time, he would be caught in one of the most tumultuous periods of Iran's modern period. As Hoveyda toiled away at a notably boring job as assistant director of the public relations office at the Foreign Ministry,
Mohammad Mossadegh was mobilizing nationalist sentiment as he rose to power. During this period, Entezam was appointed as minister of foreign affairs, allowing Hoveyda to assume a more intellectually stimulating role as Entezam's executive secretary. His tenure did not last long before
Mossadegh was appointed
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 i ...
, dissolving the former cabinet along with Hoveyda's job.
Leaving Iran once again in 1952, Hoveyda was able to secure a position with the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...
through the help of his European contacts. As a liaison officer, he was given the task of visiting various continents, including Asia, Africa, and the
Americas
The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World.
Along with th ...
, promulgating the plight of refugees and in effect receiving several commendations from high ranking
UN officials.
The Iranian embassy in
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
would serve to be Hoveyda's final official position outside Iran's frontiers. Assistant to the ambassador, who so happened to be the father of his good friend,
Hassan-Ali Mansour, Hoveyda would make a quick exit after Mansour's father was replaced by an authoritarian army general in 1957.
Rise to power
Hoveyda's rise to power involved many years of service within the ministry of foreign affairs, but this path took on a whole new approach once he joined the Board of Directors of the
National Iranian Oil Company
The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC; fa, شرکت ملّی نفت ایران, Sherkat-e Melli-ye Naft-e Īrān) is a government-owned national oil and natural gas producer and distributor under the direction of the Ministry of Petroleum of ...
(NIOC) in 1958 at the behest of his patron
Abdullah Entezam
Abdollah Entezam was an Iranian Diplomat (alternatively: Seyed Abdollah Entezam), son of Seyed Mohamad also known as "Binesh Ali", leader of Safi Ali Shahi order of dervishes in Iran. His father was also a diplomat.
Older brother of Nasrollah Entez ...
, who had by then assumed a high ranking position at the company. As managing director and special assistant to Entezam, Hoveyda used his experiences in the West to transform management-worker relations. As an example, he introduced innovative methods by which workers filed grievances in regard to any aspect of the working environment they deemed unsatisfactory, and helped to figuratively enmesh the roles of management and the labourers into a collective entity. One way he went about doing this was by eating many of his meals alongside wage labourers in the cafeteria. Although he advocated the emulation of Western models to improve overall productivity and worker relations, Hoveyda was very outspoken in favour of expelling foreign technicians and attracting indigenous sources of labour. It was during his tenure in which the NIOC's periodical, ''
Kavosh'' (Persian: ''Exploration''), was first published. What is unique about this magazine is that it was, initially, virtually void of any semblance of the growing cult of personality which surrounded the Shah.
Continuing his duties as managing director at the NIOC, Hoveyda also helped
Hassan Ali Mansour
Hasan Ali Mansur ( fa, حسن علی منصور; 13 April 1923 – 26 January 1965) was an Iranian politician who served as Prime Minister from 1964 to 1965. He served during the White Revolution of the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and was as ...
in establishing a semi-independent group of highly trained,
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
educated, and young
technocrats
Technocracy is a form of government in which the decision-maker or makers are selected based on their expertise in a given area of responsibility, particularly with regard to scientific or technical knowledge. This system explicitly contrasts wi ...
. The organization's main goal was to devise methods of rectifying the nation's ailing economy. Known as the
Progressive Circle, this government sponsored dowreh ("Persian for a gathering held at regular intervals") was a deliberate attempt by the shah to thin out the older generation of politicians with a new 'progressive' crop. With its inception in 1959, the Circle acted in conjunction with a similar government commission called the
Plan Organization. Hoveyda would play a major leadership role in the Circle and would be the catalyst behind much of its recruitment efforts.
Besides experience and patronage,
Freemasonry
Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
was seen by many politicians at the time as a supplemental credit towards obtaining high ranking government positions. It is no doubt that many members of the
Foroughi Lodge Forūghī ( fa, فروغی), also transliterated as Foroughi, Forooghi and Furūghi, is a popular Persian surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Mohammad-Ali Foroughi, prominent Iranian politician and scholar of the first half of the 20 ...
, the chapter Hoveyda would eventually join, harboured and produced many influential politicians of Iran's modern era. Hoveyda became a freemason in 1960 believing that his mere association with the organization would help propel him into the national spotlight. Hoveida would succeed in this regard, but the attention he received was all but positive. Freemasonry in Iran has always been seen as an extension of British
imperialism, and with rumours surrounding Hoveyda's religious persuasion, opportunities to attack Hoveyda's character were not taken for granted by his political adversaries during his years as head of
foreign policy and
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 i ...
. It is well documented that Court Minister
Asadollah Alam
Asadollah Alam ( fa, اسدالله علم; 24 July 1919 – 14 April 1978) was an Iranian politician who was prime minister during the Shah's regime from 1962 to 1964. He was also minister of Royal Court, president of Pahlavi University and g ...
and
General Nasiri of SAVAK, Iran's domestic security and intelligence service, helped expedite the publication of key controversial books against Freemasonry, referencing Hoveyda in each piece. Rumours were also spread by his detractors that he was a
Baháʼí, a
persecuted religion in Iran, but both he and the Shah denied that he was a Baháʼí.
Term as Prime Minister
When the Progressive Circle soon became a political entity in the form of the Iran Novin (New Iran) Party in 1963, Hoveyda would be thrust into the national scene. Flanking Prime Minister Hassan Ali Mansour as his
Minister of Finance
A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation.
A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...
in 1964, the now well seasoned Hoveyda would make his mark by acting as the
cabinet's intellectual centre. Many observers, both within and without Iran, would take note of Hoveyda's prudent behaviour and shrewdness. To many, he embodied the archetypical statesman. Hoveyda's positive attributes would again be shrouded by scandal and gossip. During the early months of Mansour's premiership, the government was attacked for ratifying a bill which allowed foreigners
extraterritorial rights
Extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) is the legal ability of a government to exercise authority beyond its normal boundaries.
Any authority can claim ETJ over any external territory they wish. However, for the claim to be effective in the externa ...
. More specifically, those who benefited from the law were U.S. military personnel and their dependents. These "capitulation rights" would have a negative impact on the way government at the time was seen by the populace. Because the actions of the government were, by law, reflective of the sitting cabinet at the time, disregarding individual ministerial involvement, Hoveida was also blamed for the bill's implementation even though he was not directly involved in its drafting.
Mansour's assassination on 21 January 1965, by a seventeen-year-old devotee of the
Fada’yan-e Islam, would completely alter Hoveyda's future. As he personally reported the news to an obviously distraught shah, he was ordered to formulate a cabinet. Hoveyda would replace the deceased Mansour as the longest running premier in Iran's modern history. It is important to note, however, that the sense of autonomy seen among past prime ministers such as
Ali Amini
Ali Amini ( fa, علی امینی; 12 September 1905–12 December 1992) was an Iranian politician who was the Prime Minister of Iran from 1961 to 1962. He held several cabinet portfolios during the 1950s, and served as a member of parliame ...
,
Haj Ali Razmara
Ali Razmara, also known as Haj Ali Razmara ( fa, حاجیعلی رزمآرا, Ḥājī`alī Razmārā; 30 March 1901 – 7 March 1951), was a military leader and prime minister of Iran.
He was assassinated by 26-year-old Khalil Tahmasse ...
, and
Mohammad Mosaddegh
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 ...
, had been systematically marginalized by the autocratic Mohammad Reza Shah. In his rather successful campaign at consolidating power, the king maintained his international image as a constitutional monarch, but Hoveida's tenure as PM attests to how this portrayal was not an objective reflection of circumstances. Hoveyda's premiership would be the pivot behind his resistance to such powerlessness. Hoveyda became a household name in Iran through the constant character assassination he received by the Towfigh's magazine, Iran's most popular political satire magazine. Hoveyda was largely unknown among the population of Iran before Towfigh publicized him. He was caricatured in Towfigh's weekly magazine carrying a cane (caused by a traffic accident in which he was involved), wearing one carnation in his suit jacket pocket, and smoking a pipe. Towfigh magazine referred to him as "The Caned One" and even devoted an entire book dedicated to exposing his flaws as a premier entitled "Assa-Nameh". The magazine (and Iranian media in general) frequently criticized and lampooned Hoveyda, primarily because they intended to criticize the Shah himself, but were unable to directly do so due to censorship.
The first half of Hoveyda's premiership is marked by a sense of optimism. As already mentioned, in 1966, Hoveyda attempted to allure many elements of the intellectual community, as well as the opposition, into an informal agreement with the regime. Although talks between the two sides eventually broke down, Hoveyda never lost sight of what a partnership between the two could have accomplished. His pragmatic approach to politics allowed him to envision an incremental reform process that can be carried out through action. This is contrary to the path assumed by many Iranian intellectuals at the time, which involved quixotic solutions to problems such as electoral corruption and media censorship. Hoveyda resumed many of the reform initiatives set out by the Mansour administration. In particular, reform plans that were laid out by the Shah in the
White Revolution
The White Revolution ( fa, انقلاب سفید ''Enqelāb-e Sefid'') or the Shah and People Revolution ( fa, انقلاب شاه و مردم ''Enqelāb-e Shāh o Mardom'') was a far-reaching series of reforms resulting in aggressive moderniz ...
. Although a
secularist
Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on secular, naturalistic considerations.
Secularism is most commonly defined as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state, and may be broadened to a sim ...
, he would even allocate government revenue to the clerical establishment. The clerical establishment was seen as a bulwark against Communism by the Shah, and was constantly reinforced (a policy that the Shah would later regret).
Hoveyda's plan to crack down on
corruption became an example of the entrenched ineptitude of many in power. Many important members of the government were corrupt, and the Shah was consistently flattered and schmoozed by them and turned a blind eye to the problem. The Shah began receiving an increasingly distorted picture of Iranian society, while becoming completely blind to increasing frustration to this rule by regular Iranians, as well as the shortcomings of his own government. Hoveyda's inability to move forward with his personal mandate eventually turned the overtly optimistic prime minister into a
cynic. After years of political maneuvering, most of his proposed initiatives were stonewalled by bureaucratic obstacles. During the 1970s, the now veteran Prime Minister became nonchalant when it came to following through with his own convictions. His earlier aggression towards the dysfunctions of an obtrusive system slowly turned into feigned support. Publicly, Hoveyda assumed the notion that the regime in its current state would eventually reform on its own, and that political liberalization was only a small issue in the grand scheme of
modernization. In private, Hoveyda often lamented over Iran's conditions, admitting to insufficiencies of the state and his own political impotence. The powerlessness of the premier's office was coupled with intricate internal rivalries. Hoveyda had an intensely rough relationship with the likes of Asadollah Alam and
Ardeshir Zahedi
Ardeshir Zahedi, GCVO ( fa, اردشیر زاهدی; 16 October 1928 – 18 November 2021) was an Iranian politician and diplomat who served as the country's foreign minister from 1966 to 1971, and its ambassador to the United States and the Un ...
, son of the famed participant in the
1953 coup against Mossadegh, General
Fazlollah Zahedi
Fazlollah Zahedi ( fa, فضلالله زاهدی, Fazlollāh Zāhedi, pronounced ; 17 May 1892 – 2 September 1963) was an Iranian lieutenant general and statesman who replaced the Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh through a coup d' ...
.
Minister of Court and final years
On 2 March 1975, the shah dissolved the
Iran Novin Party
The Iran Novin Party ( fa, حزب ایران نوین, Ḥizb-i Īrān-i Nuvīn, lit=New Iran Party) was a royalist political party in Iran and the country's ruling party for more than a decade, controlling both cabinet and the parliament from 19 ...
and its opposition elements in creating a single party system headed by the
Rastakhiz
''Rastakhiz'' (Persian رستاخیز "resurrection") may refer to:
* Rastakhiz F.C., an Iranian football team
*Rastakhiz Party
The Party of Resurrection of the Iranian Nation ( fa, حزب رستاخیز ملت ایران) or simply Rastakhiz ...
(Resurgence/Resurrection) Party. In relation to Hoveyda, it is believed that the shah was being threatened by the growing influence wielded by party officials, Hoveyda being the most notable. The growth of an independent apparatus was contrary to the Shah's contrivance involving the consolidation of all power. Hoveyda's inability to garner any type of power base in government allowed him to concentrate much of his energy on developing the Iran Novin Party. The networks he had slowly developed over the years came to trouble the monarch. Although Hoveyda would be coerced into relinquishing his position as prime minister, he accepted a temporary intermediary role as secretary general of Rastakhiz before a new Prime Minister can be appointed. Nevertheless, the Shah still saw Hovedya as a trusted (if not pliable) figure, and he was appointed to be minister of court. In her memoirs, Queen Farah wrote that asking Hoveyda to leave the post of prime minister was as painful as "giving birth to a baby".
Hoveida would serve as minister of court within
Jamshid Amouzegar
Jamshid Amouzegar ( fa, جمشید آموزگار; 25 June 1923 – 27 September 2016) was an Iranian economist and politician who was prime minister of Iran from 7 August 1977 to 27 August 1978 when he resigned. Prior to that, he served as ...
's government in 1977. With this role, he would come to discover the pervasiveness of internal corruption, once concealed by
Asadollah Alam
Asadollah Alam ( fa, اسدالله علم; 24 July 1919 – 14 April 1978) was an Iranian politician who was prime minister during the Shah's regime from 1962 to 1964. He was also minister of Royal Court, president of Pahlavi University and g ...
and the team he had surrounded himself with. Nevertheless, he continued to tolerate the practice as well, while simultaneously remaining a trusted advisor to the Shah.
Hoveyda was alleged to have been the author of an article which attacked the opposition figure the
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini as being a British agent and a liar, which was anyonymously published in
Kayhan newspaper in January 1978 on the Shah's orders. Whether or not the allegations were true, the article generated a major backlash among Khomeini's supporters, which eventually spiralled into the
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dyna ...
.
At this point, the growing tide of revolution was becoming discernible, giving Hoveyda ample opportunity to leave the country before revolutionary forces could have had a chance to overthrow the 2500-year-old monarchy. Aside from persistent efforts by family and friends to leave the country as quickly as possible, the Shah himself proposed Hoveida with an ambassadorial position to Belgium. His refusal to leave the country can be judged as being a result of naïveté or blind optimism, but Hoveida's decision can also be assessed from alternate angles. For one, he did not want to abandon his mother who was incapable of traveling at the time. On a more personal level, Hoveyda came to the conclusion that after years of self-exile, he would do all he could to remain in Iran. With all these points of rationale being considered, Hoveida actually came to believe that revolutionary fervour was capable of being contained and that everything would eventually straighten out, allowing the country to resume its present course.
In an effort to slow down the momentum of the revolution, the Shah was advised by many of his surrounding advisors to arrest Hoveida, using him as a scapegoat for the past-ills of the crumbling regime. Since Hoveyda was widely seen as a major cause of the revolution due to much of the bad press he had generated throughout the years by newspapers that wanted to indirectly attack the Shah's policies, they reasoned that the public would be appeased. In September, Hoveyda was forced to resign his position of Minister of Court. On 7 November 1978, Hoveyda was arrested together with other 60 former officials.
He would be held under house arrest in an upper-Tehran residence often affiliated with
SAVAK activity, and the Shah assumed that he would be put on trial, and freed after publicly vindicating himself.
However, once the Shah fled the country, the
SAVAK (Iranian state security) agents assigned with the task of guarding Hoveyda, absconded from their posts, leaving Hoveida open to arrest by revolutionary forces. Hoveyda refused requests by friends and relatives to flee Iran before it was too late, and instead turned himself into the authorities. Hoveyda believed that as the trial would be before an Islamic court, and that he personally had done nothing wrong, he would be acquitted.
Trial and execution
Hoveyda was taken to the
Refah School, a temporary headquarters for the revolution's vanguard. Because of the departure of the Shah and much of the ruling class, Hoveyda had become the most prized prisoner of the old government. On 15 March 1979, he would face the newly established
Revolutionary Court for the first time. During this time he attempted to create his legal arguments for the court. He was interviewed by Belgian journalist
Christine Ockrent
Christine Ockrent (born 24 April 1944) is a Belgian journalist whose career has principally centered on French television.
She interviewed Amir Abbas Hoveyda, the former Iranian prime minister, in Evin prison after the Islamic revolution in 197 ...
, a now infamous interview in which Hoveyda was subject to near accusatory questions by the interviewer.
The clerical judge appointed by Khomeini,
Sadeq Khalkhali
Mohammed Sadeq Givi Khalkhali (27 July 1926 – 26 November 2003) ( fa, صادق خلخالی) was an Iranian Shia cleric who is said to have "brought to his job as Chief Justice of the revolutionary courts a relish for summary execution" that ...
, would come to be known as the 'Hanging Judge' for his violent approach to revolutionary justice. He was the head of the tribunal that had assembled to try the former prime minister. Prior to Hoveyda's trial, Khalkhali had already ordered the execution of dozens, possibly hundreds of political prisoners, and would eventually be responsible for thousands of executions. Traditional conventions of the judiciary had all but been abandoned during the trials of Hoveyda and countless others. Among many of the anomalous traits personified by the trial, the court ignored notions of due process, impartiality of the judge, or allowing the defendant to consult legal options. Many pundits have come to conclude that the verdict was already made by the
Ayatollah Khomeini before the trial ever commenced. Khalkhali's indictment of Hoveyda was as follows:
:Amir Abbas Hoveyda, son of Habibollah, birth certificate number 3542, issued in Tehran, born in 1298 (1920), previously minister of the deposed royal court, and the Shah's ex-Prime Minister, a citizen of Iran, is accused of:
:#
Spreading corruption on earth.
:#
Fighting God, God's creatures and the Viceroy of
Imam Zaman.
:#Acts of sedition detrimental to national security and independence, through forming cabinets that were puppets of the United States and England and defending the interests of
colonialists
Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their relig ...
.
:#Plotting against national sovereignty by interference in elections to
Majlis, appointing and dismissing ministers at the behest of foreign embassies.
:#Turning over underground resources: oil, copper and uranium, to foreigners.
:#Expansion of the influence of
American Imperialism
American imperialism refers to the expansion of American political, economic, cultural, and media influence beyond the boundaries of the United States. Depending on the commentator, it may include imperialism through outright military conques ...
, and its European allies, in Iran by destroying internal resources and turning Iran into a market for foreign commodities.
:#Paying national revenues from oil to the Shah and
Farah and to countries dependent on the
West
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
and then borrowing money at high interest, and enslaving conditions from America and
Western countries
The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania. .
:#Ruining agriculture and destroying forests.
:#Direct participation in acts of
espionage
Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...
for the West and
Zionism
Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...
.
:#Complicity with conspirators from
CENTO
The Middle East Treaty Organization (METO), also known as the Baghdad Pact and subsequently known as the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO), was a military alliance of the Cold War. It was formed in 24 February 1955 by Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Tur ...
and
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
for the oppression of the peoples of
Palestine,
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
and Iran.
:#Active member of Freemasonry in the
Foroughi Lodge Forūghī ( fa, فروغی), also transliterated as Foroughi, Forooghi and Furūghi, is a popular Persian surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Mohammad-Ali Foroughi, prominent Iranian politician and scholar of the first half of the 20 ...
according to existing documents and the confessions of the accused.
:#Participation in terrorizing and frightening the justice seeking people including their death and injury and limiting their freedom by closing down newspapers and exercising censorship on the print media and books.
:#Founder and first secretary of the despotic "Rastakhiz of the Iranian People" party.
:#Spreading cultural and ethical corruption and direct participation in consolidating the pillars of
colonialism
Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colony, colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose the ...
and granting
capitulatory rights to Americans.
:#Direct participation in smuggling
heroin in France along with
Hassan Ali Mansour
Hasan Ali Mansur ( fa, حسن علی منصور; 13 April 1923 – 26 January 1965) was an Iranian politician who served as Prime Minister from 1964 to 1965. He served during the White Revolution of the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and was as ...
.
:#False reporting through the publication of puppet papers and appointing puppet editors to head the media.
:#According to minutes of cabinet meetings and of the
Supreme Economic Council The Supreme Economic Council was established at the Paris Peace Conference in February 1919 to advise the conference on economic measures to be taken pending the negotiation of peace. Specialized commissions were appointed to study particular probl ...
, and the claims of private plaintiffs, including Ali Sayyed Javadi, and taking into account documents found in
SAVAK and the office of the prime minister, and the confessions of
Manouchehr Azmoun,
Mahmoud Jafarian,
Parviz Nick-khah, and the confessions of the accused, since the commission of the crimes is certain, the prosecutor of the
Islamic Revolutionary Court
Islamic Revolutionary Court (also Revolutionary Tribunal, ''Dadgahha-e Enqelab''Bakhash, Shaul, ''Reign of the Ayatollahs'', Basic Books, 1984, p.59-61) (Persian language, Persian: دادگاه انقلاب اسلامی) is a special system of cour ...
asks the court to issue the judgment of the death penalty and the confiscation of all your
oveyda'sproperty.
The composition of the trial's proceedings reflected the style in which the indictment was designed and promulgated. Many of the charges were never substantiated and often reflected uninvestigated rumours of the day. Abbas Milani agrees with this notion when he described the essence of the court's ambience:
On 7 April 1979, Hoveyda was transported to
Qasr Prison
The Museum of the Qasr Prison ( fa, موزه زندان قصر ''muze-ye zendān-e qasr'') is a historical complex in Tehran, Iran.
Formerly referred to as the Qasr Prison ( ''zendān-e qasr'', "Mansion prison"), it was one of the oldest poli ...
, once a getaway palace for monarchs of the
Qajar dynasty, but converted into a prison during the 1920s. By this time, he was now aware that there would be no mercy for him, and the whole charade would end in his own death. Quickly shuffled back in front of Khalkhali's tribunal, he once again heard the court's indictment at three in the afternoon. There is some speculation as to who ordered the resumption of the trial.
Bani Sadr
Seyyed Abolhassan Banisadr ( fa, سید ابوالحسن بنیصدر; 22 March 1933 – 9 October 2021) was an Iranian politician, writer, and political dissident. He was the first president of Iran after the 1979 Iranian Revolution aboli ...
, one among many leaders of the
Provisional Revolutionary Government who advocated a public trial, states that only
Khomeini
Ruhollah Khomeini, Ayatollah Khomeini, Imam Khomeini ( , ; ; 17 May 1900 – 3 June 1989) was an Iranian political and religious leader who served as the first supreme leader of Iran from 1979 until his death in 1989. He was the founder of ...
himself had the authority to make such an order. Behind locked doors, Hoveyda's fate, which had already been decided by Khomeini days earlier, was sealed.
Khalkhali repeatedly yelled at and insulted Hoveyda during much of the trial, calling him "a corrupter of the earth" and a "Western criminal puppet", refusing to allow him to make a testimony in his defense. In defiance, Hoveyda denounced Khalkhali and informed him that he had no intention of defending himself any longer in front of a sham court. Immediately, Khalkhali announced his sentence, death by
firing squad
Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are ...
and confiscation of all material possessions.
Minutes later, the former Prime Minister was taken into the prison's yard. Before reaching the area designated for firing squad executions,
Hojatoleslam
Hujjat al-Islam (from ''ḥujjat-u l-Islām'') (also Hojatoleslam) is an honorific title meaning "authority on Islam" or "proof of Islam".
Sunni Islam
Its first recorded use was in a Sunni Islam, Sunni context, as a title for the 11th-century t ...
Hadi Ghaffari
Hojjatoleslam Hadi Ghaffari ( fa, حجت الاسلام هادی غفاری) (born June 25, 1950 in Azarshahr) is a member of the central council of Imam assembly forces and the president of the Al-Hadi Institute in Iran. He was accused of mu ...
(currently a political reformist) pulled out a pistol and shot Hoveyda twice in the neck. He was left on the ground in agony, begging for the executioners to "finish him off". Seconds before the coup de grace was at last given, Hoveyda is said to have gasped to the guard standing over him: "It wasn't supposed to end like this". According to the autopsy report, he apparently also was beaten shortly before his execution.
Hoveyda's corpse was held in Tehran's morgue for several months after his execution, before it was secretly released to his immediate family and buried in
Behesht-e Zahra
Behesht-e Zahra ( fa, بهشت زهرا, lit. ''The Paradise of Zahra'', from Fatima az-Zahra) is the largest cemetery in Iran. Located in the southern part of metropolitan Tehran, it is connected to the city by Tehran Metro Line 1.
History
...
cemetery in Tehran as an unknown deceased.
Following his execution, his residence in
A.S.P. Towers was looted by revolutionaries. According to some witnesses he rarely had any items of luxury nature. His prized possessions were a rocking chair and a library of a few hundred books.
Personal life
On 19 July 1966, Hoveyda married
Laila Emami (1932–2018) in a small ceremony. Only a small number of guests were invited to attend, including the Shah,
Queen Farah, Laila's parents, Hoveyda's mother, and his friend
Manouchehr Shahgholi, and his wife. The marriage ended five years later in 1971, but the two would remain friends, often traveling together.
Legacy
In 2000, Hoveyda's biography, ''
The Persian Sphinx
''The Persian Sphinx: Amir Abbas Hoveyda and the Riddle of the Iranian Revolution'' is a political historical biography of Amir Abbas Hoveyda by Iranian-American historian and author Abbas Milani. The book covers his early life, rise in politics ...
'' P, was published by
Abbas Milani
Abbas Malekzadeh Milani ( fa, عباس ملکزاده میلانی; born 1949) is an Iranian-American historian, educator, and author. Milani is a visiting professor of Political Science, and the Hamid and Christina Moghadam Director of the Ira ...
in English, and followed by Persian editions in 2001 and 2002.
Hoveyda awarded the title of
Commander of the Legion of Honour
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...
after his death.
Notes
External References
*
Abbas Milani
Abbas Malekzadeh Milani ( fa, عباس ملکزاده میلانی; born 1949) is an Iranian-American historian, educator, and author. Milani is a visiting professor of Political Science, and the Hamid and Christina Moghadam Director of the Ira ...
, ''The Persian Sphinx: Amir Abbas Hoveyda and the Riddle of the Iranian Revolution'', Mage Publishers, 2000, , and I.B.Tauris, 2000,
Excerpt from Chapter One
Amir Abbas Hoveyda's Execution caseAmir-Abbas Hoveyda IMDbHow the Shah of Iran eliminated his dissidentsS*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoveida, Amir Abbas
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