Mostowfi ol-Mamalek

Mostowfi ol-Mamalek
Prime Minister of Iran
In office 15 July 1910 – 19 July 1911
Monarch	Ahmad Shah Qajar
Preceded by	Vosough od-Dowleh
Succeeded by	Vosough od-Dowleh
In office 1 July 1914 – 1 February 1915
Monarch	Ahmad Shah Qajar
Preceded by	Mirza Mohammed Ali Khan
Succeeded by	Abdol-Hossein Mirza Farmanfarma
In office 18 August 1915 – 25 December 1915
Monarch	Ahmad Shah Qajar
Preceded by	Abdol Majid Mirza
Succeeded by	Abdol-Hossein Mirza Farmanfarma
In office 7 July 1917 – 19 December 1917
Monarch	Ahmad Shah Qajar
Preceded by	Vosough od-Dowleh
Succeeded by	Abdol Majid Mirza
In office 30 January 1923 – 15 June 1923
Monarch	Ahmade Shah Qajar
Preceded by	Ahmad Qavam
Succeeded by	Hassan Pirnia
In office 13 June 1926 – 2 June 1927
Monarch	Reza Shah
Preceded by	Mohammad-Ali Foroughi
Succeeded by	Mehdi Qoli Hedayat
Personal details
Born	5 October 1874 Tehran, Iran
Died	27 August 1932 Tehran, Iran
Resting place	Alzahra University
Political party	Constitutional Movement/E'tedalion Party
Spouse(s)	Esmat el Molouk
Religion	Islam

Mirza Hasan Ashtiani Mostowfi al-Mamalek (October 5, 1874 - August 27, 1932) was an Iranian Politician who served as Prime Minister of Iran on six separate occasions.

Early life

Mostowfi al-Mamalek came from an important and well-known family of highranking bureaucrats during the Qajar era. His father was, Mirza Yousof Mostowfi al-Mamalek, a bureaucrat of the Qajar court and a Prime Minister, and his grandfather was Mirza Hasan Mostowfi al-Mamalek I and was given the title of Mostofi al Mamalek under Mohammad Shah Qajar . One year before his fathers death, Nasereddin Shah granted the title Mostowfi ol-Mamalek ("chief financier of the country") to the very young, Hasan. When the nobility started to ridicule Hasan for being given such an important job/title at such young age, Nasereddin Shah, convinced of the young boy's talents, added the title "Aaqaa" (Sir) to Hasan's titles, thereby obliging the nobility to call him "Sir" every time they addressed him. He was since frequently referred to simply as "Aaqaa" in political circles. At the age of 18, he married Nasr-ol-Din Shah’s granddaughter, Khanom Esmat el Molouk, and became a member of the royal family.

Education in Paris

After a series of disgreements with the newly instated Mozaffar ad-Din Shah, Mostowfi al-Mamalek travelled to Paris for his higher education, and soon climbed his way up the political ladder in Iran. During this period he visited many European countries and observed their systems of government . During his trips to Europe, Mozaffar ad-Din Shah gave him multiple invitations to return to Iran, however he declined. In the year 1907, after the Persian Constitutional Revolution and the death of Mozzafar ad-Din Shah, Mostowfi al-Mamalek returned to Iran accompanied by Ali Asghar Khan, who had just been appointed Prime Minister of Iran by Mohammad Ali Shah Soon after his return he set up a humanitarian society with Mohammad Mossadegh as his deputy

Political Career

During the Persian Constitutional Revolution era, Mostowfi was appointed Minister 15 times, and Prime Minister 6 times.

One of his most formidable opponents in politics at the time was Hassan Modarres who made numerous efforts to pull down Mostowfi's cabinet.

Mostowfi's cabinet finally collapsed under pressure from political opponents despite the full backing of Ahmad Shah Qajar. During the run-up to the elections, Modarres and his followers in the Parliament were actively campaigning against Mostowfi's cabinet. They tabled a formal question to the government, which was customarily followed by a vote of confidence. The ministers answered the questions convincingly. Mostowfi, who was not used to this kind of street politics, was said to be angry and disappointed. He delivered his most famous speech to Parliament, blaming members of Parliament for “giving and taking ajil [dried nuts]”, which in Persian means giving and taking bribes. He is believed to have said “I have problems with my digestive system, and I do not take or give any ajil”.

He was the first Prime Minister to call Parliamentarians corrupt instead of cajoling and flattering them. He and his ministers left the Parliament, went straight to the Shah and resigned.

Despite his opposition to Mostowfi, Modarres was part of the party that encouraged Mostowfi to take his sixth term as Prime Minister. Reza Shah had been elected Shah and crowned. In order to legitimize his rule he needed a Prime Minister who had the confidence of the politicians and the general public, so he chose Mostowfi. Modarres believed that Mostowfi was one of the few people who might curb the excesses of the new Shah and his generals.

This was to be Mostowfi's last post. At the end of May 1927, Mostowfi resigned from office and from political life.

Death and Legacy

Mirza Hassan Mostowfi al Mamalek died of a heart attack on the 28th August 1932. He was buried in the family mausoleum in Vanak village. The funeral procession was marked by the fact that the Armenian residents of Vanak carried the coffin for a mile to the Mausoleum, followed by a procession of 80 or more cars. The mausoleum is currently on the grounds of Alzahra University .

His descendants now bear the surname "Mostofi al-Mamaleki", "Mostowfi", " Tahriri", "Dabiri".

References

• Iran in the last 3 Centuries by Alireza Avsati. Published Tehran, 2003. Vol1 ISBN 964-93406-6-1 Vol2 ISBN 964-93406-5-3

See also

• Pahlavi Dynasty
• List of Prime Ministers of Iran
• [1]

Political offices
Preceded by Vosough od-Dowleh	Prime Minister of Iran 1910-1911	Succeeded by Vosough od-Dowleh
Preceded by Mirza Mohammad Ali Khan	Prime Minister of Iran 1914-1915	Succeeded by Abdol-Hossein Mirza Farmanfarma
Preceded by Abdol Majid Mirza	Prime Minister of Iran 1915	Succeeded by Abdol-Hossein Mirza Farmanfarma
Preceded by Vosough od-Dowleh	Prime Minister of Iran 1917	Succeeded by Abdol Majid Mirza
Preceded by Ahmad Qavam	Prime Minister of Iran 1923	Succeeded by Hassan Pirnia
Preceded by Mohammad-Ali Foroughi	Prime Minister of Iran 1926-1927	Succeeded by Mehdi Qoli Hedayat