Nasser Minachi (1931–25 January 2014) was an Iranian activist and founder of Hosseiniyeh Ershad, a modernist Islamic institution. He served as the minister of tourism and then the minister of information and publicity in the

Interim Government of Iran The Interim Government of Iran ( fa, دولت موقت ايران, Dowlat-e Movaqat-e Irân) was the first government established in Iran after the Iranian Revolution. The regime was headed by Mehdi Bazargan, one of the members of the Freedom ...

after the

regime change Regime change is the partly forcible or coercive replacement of one government regime with another. Regime change may replace all or part of the state's most critical leadership system, administrative apparatus, or bureaucracy. Regime change may ...

in 1979. He was also the minister of culture in the government during the Presidency of

Abolhassan Banisadr 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 ...

Career and activities

Minachi was one of the bazaar leaders during the reign of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and cofounded the Hosseiniyeh Ershad, a nontraditional Islamic organization 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 ...

. He served as the caretaker of the institution until his death. He was also an opposition leader at that time. He had a moderate oppositional approach and was serving as the director of committee for the defense of human rights. Just before the

in February 1979 Minachi was also spokesperson of the a group consisting of moderate Islamic nationalists led by

Mahdi Bazargan Mehdi Bazargan ( fa, مهدی بازرگان; 1 September 1907 – 20 January 1995) was an Iranian scholar, academic, long-time pro-democracy activist and head of Iran's interim government. He was appointed prime minister in February 1979 by Aya ...

. He was appointed tourism minister to the

interim government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or f ...

of Mahdi Bazargan in February 1979. He was also made the minister of information and publicity in the same cabinet on 22 February that year. He was also a member of the revolutionary council until November 1979. The occupiers of the US embassy in Tehran called for Minachi's arrest while he was serving as information minister. They accused Minachi of being a CIA agent. Minachi was eventually arrested in his home by the militants in early February 1980. He was freed soon with the intervention of Bazargan. Later Minachi became the minister of culture and national guidance under the Presidency of Abolhassan Banisadr.

Death

Minachi died of heart failure on 25 January 2014 in Tehran. His memorial service was held in the Hosseiniyeh Ershad mosque.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Minachi, Nasser 20th-century Iranian politicians 1931 births 2014 deaths Government ministers of Iran Members of the Iranian Committee for the Defense of Freedom and Human Rights People of the Iranian Revolution Politicians from Tehran