Mansour Rouhani (1922–11 April 1979) was an Iranian politician who held several government posts during the reign of

Shah Mohammad Reza 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 ...

. He was one of the politicians who were murdered after the

Islamic 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 ...

in 1979.

Biography

Rouhani's father was a Bahá'í whereas his mother was a

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

. On 7 March 1964 Rouhani was named as the minister of water and power in the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

led by

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 ...

Hasan Ali Mansour. Rouhani served in the same post in the first cabinet of Prime Minister

Amir-Abbas Hoveyda 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 l ...

from 26 January 1965. He also served as the minister of agriculture in the next cabinet of Amir Abbas Hoveyda. He was reappointed to the post on 13 September 1971. Rouhani and many other leading figures close to the Shah were removed from the office in Fall 1978 shortly after the riots and protests occurred in rural parts of Iran. On 13 September 1978 Rouhani was arrested. He was in prison when a regime change took place in Iran in February 1979. He was tried by the newly established

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: دادگاه انقلاب اسلامی) is a special system of courts in the Islamic ...

led by religious judge

Sadegh 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 ...

. Rouhani was charged with treason and corruption on earth and sentenced to death. Rasoul Sadr Ameli, an Iranian journalist worked for ''

Ettela'at ''Ettela'at'' ( fa, اطلاعات, Ettelâ'ât, ) is a Persian language daily newspaper of record published in Iran. It is among the oldest publications in the country, and the oldest running Persian daily newspaper in the world. The paper has ...

'', reported that when Rouhani learned these claims, he asked the judge how he engaged in war with God. Khalkhali answered him: "You are a Baha'i." Rouhani was 57 years old when he was killed by the revolutionaries on 11 April 1979. The same day ten other senior figures, including former foreign minister

Abbas Ali Khalatbari Abbas Ali Khalatbari ( fa, عباسعلی خلعتبری, Abbās-'Alī Khal’atbarī; 1912 – 11 April 1979), also known as Abbas Ali Khal'atbari, was an Iranian diplomat, who served as the minister of foreign affairs from 1971 to 1978. He was ...

, were also executed.

Personal life

His wife was Parvin Rouhani who left Iran before or after the Islamic revolution in 1979 and settled in the United States. The family properties were confiscated by the Islamic government during that period. Rouhani's son married an American woman, and they both left Iran in 1978.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rouhani, Mansour 20th-century Iranian politicians 1922 births 1979 deaths Agriculture ministers of Iran Iranian Bahá'ís People executed by Iran by firing squad Politicians executed during the Iranian Revolution