Mohsen Rais ( fa, محسن رئیس; 1896–1975), also known as Mirza Mohsen Khan, was an

Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...

diplomat and served as foreign minister and as ambassador during the

Pahlavi era The Pahlavi dynasty ( fa, دودمان پهلوی) was the last Iranian royal dynasty, ruling for almost 54 years between 1925 and 1979. The dynasty was founded by Reza Shah Pahlavi, a non-aristocratic Mazanderani soldier in modern times, who ...

Early life and education

Rais was born in 1896 in Tehran. His father was Zahir ol Mulk. He was a graduate of the

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin as a theological seminary. It remained focused on theology until the 17th centu ...

Career

Rais joined the Iranian foreign ministry in 1919. He was part of an association, Gamiyet-i Iran-i Qavan (Young Iran Association), which was founded by Iranian intellectuals in 1921. The founders of the association were all educated in Europe. Rais served as a counsellor in Paris from 1930 to 1933. He was named director of the League of Nations and treaty department in the ministry in 1933 and was in office until 1935. He was the ambassador of Iran to Germany from 1935 to 1938. In 1938, he served as acting foreign minister. He was appointed director general of the political affairs at the foreign ministry in 1938 which he held until 1939. Then he served as the ambassador to Romania and

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

(1939-1941), ambassador to France (1941-1942), minister of posts and telecommunications (1942) and ambassador to Iraq (1943-1947). He was appointed Iran's ambassador to the United Kingdom on 6 August 1947, replacing

Hassan Taqizadeh Sayyed Hasan Taqizādeh ( fa, سید حسن تقی‌زاده; September 27, 1878 in Tabriz, Iran – January 28, 1970 in Tehran, Iran) was an influential Iranian politician and diplomat, of Azeri origin, during the Qajar dynasty under the r ...

in the post. He held the post until July 1950 and was succeeded by

Ali Soheili Ali Soheili ( fa, علی سهیلی; 1896 – 1 May 1958) was a Prime Minister of Iran. Born in Tabriz, he served as Prime Minister in 1942, and Ambassador to Britain in 1953. He has studied at Saint Louis school in Tehran. The Tehran Confe ...

in the post. Rais was appointed foreign minister on 18 July 1950 replacing Mahmud Salahi who had been serving as the acting foreign minister since 26 June 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 ...

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 ...

. Rais's term lasted until 11 March 1951 when a new cabinet was formed by

Hossein Ala' Hosein Alā ( fa, حسین علاء; 13 December 1881 – 12 July 1964) was an Iranian politician who served as Prime Minister in 1951 and from 1955 to 1957. Background He was born in 1882 in Tehran and spent his early years in London. He was ed ...

due to the assassination of Razmara on 7 March. In the period 10 November 1953 to 29 January 1958 Rais was the ambassador of Iran to France. From 1958 to 1960, he was the governor-general of Azerbaijan. He was again transferred to diplomatic post and served as ambassador to France (1962-1963), to the Netherlands (1960-1961) and the Court of St. James’s (1961-1962). His last public office was the governor of Tehran (1964-1969) and during the same period he was also a senator.

Honors and awards

Rais was the recipient of various awards, including the Order of Homayun (1947; 1st class) and * Legion Honneur GO ribbon

Grand Officer of

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, ...

(1947).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rais, Mohsen 20th-century diplomats 1896 births Ambassadors of Iran to Germany Ambassadors of Iran to the United Kingdom Ambassadors of Iran to the Netherlands Ambassadors of Iran to Iraq Ambassadors of Iran to France Ambassadors of Iran to Romania Ambassadors of Iran to Yugoslavia Foreign ministers of Iran Government ministers of Iran Iranian governors Politicians from Tehran People of Pahlavi Iran Recipients of the Legion of Honour Date of death unknown University of Geneva alumni