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Iran Party

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Iran Party
Secretary-GeneralBagher Ghadiri-Asl
FoundedOctober 1941; 83 years ago (1941-10)[1] as the Engineers’ Association
May 1944; 80 years ago (1944-05)[2]
Merger ofMotherland Party
HeadquartersTehran, Iran
Ideology
Political positionCentre-left[3]
National affiliation
Slogan
  • Persian: برای ایران، بافکر ايرانی، بدست ايرانی
    "For Iran, With Iranian Thought, by Iranian Hands"[2]
  • Persian: کار، داد، آزادی "Work, Justice, Freedom"[2]
Party flag

The Iran Party (Persian: حزب ایران, romanized: Ḥezb-e Irān) is a socialist and nationalist party in Iran, founded in 1941. It is described as the "backbone of the National Front", the leading umbrella organization of Iranian nationalists established in 1949.[4] The party's total membership has never exceeded the several hundred figure.[5]

History

The Iran Party's core members derived from the Iranian Engineers’ Association (Persian: کانون مهندسین ایران, romanized: Kānun-e mohandesin-e Irān).[2] In the 1944 Iranian legislative election, five of the party's leaders, including Rezazadeh Shafaq, Ghulam'Ali Farivar, AhdulHamid Zanganeh, Hussein Mu'aven, and Abdallah Mu'azemi won seats, as well as Mohammad Mossadegh (who was not a member but the party effectively supported).[6]

From June 1946[7] to January 1947,[2] it was allied with the communist Tudeh Party and some other left-wing parties under the name United Front of Progressive Parties. Following the alliance, some members left the party in protest and established the Iran Unity Party.[2] The party was part of the short-lived Coalition government of Ahmad Qavam in 1946.[2]

In January 1947, the party expressed support for Eisenhower Doctrine in an statement.[2]

The party helped Mossadegh establish the National Front, nationalize the oil industry and rise to power. Some members held office during Mosaddegh government.[2] It was suppressed following the British–American backed coup d'état in 1953[2] and was outlawed in 1957, on the grounds that it had an alliance with the Tudeh Party of Iran ten years earlier.[8] It was revived in 1960 and actively contributed to the National Front (II), which was disintegrated in 1963 and forced to survive secretly. Iran Party held a congress in 1964.[2] Not much is known about the activities of the party between 1964 and the mid-1970s except of some irregular meetings and exchanging views.[2] In 1977, alongside League of Socialists and Nation Party it revived the National Front (IV) and demanded Ruhollah Khomeini's return to Iran.[2] In early 1979, then secretary-general of the party, Shapour Bakhtiar was appointed as the last Prime Minister by the Shah and included two Iran Party members in his cabinet.[2] The party however denounced his acceptance of the post, expelled him and called him a "traitor".[9] The party did not play an important role in Iranian political arena after 1979 and was soon declared banned.[2]

According to Lisa Daftari, the party called for a boycott in 2009 Iranian presidential election.[10]

Secretary-generals

Name Tenure Ref
Allahyar Saleh 1944–Unknown [2]
Abolfazl Qassemi Unknown [2]
Asghar Gitibin Unknown [2]
Karim Sanjabi Unknown [2]
Shapour Bakhtiar 1978–1979 [2]
Abolfazl Qassemi 1979–1993 [11]
Nezameddin Movahed 1999–2007
Bagher Ghadiri-Asl Current

Ideology

Founded by mostly of European-educated technocrats, it advocated "a diluted form of French socialism"[6] (i.e. it "modeled itself on" the moderate Socialist Party of France)[12] and promoted social democracy[13] and liberal nationalism.[14] The socialist tent of the party was more akin to that of the Fabian Society than to the scientific socialism of Karl Marx.[15] Its focus on liberal socialism and democratic socialism principles, made it quite different from pure left-wing parties and it did not show much involvement in labour rights discussions.[2] The party is secular[1] and believes Islam is "sacred a religion to mix with the bread-and-butter issues of daily politics."[16]

See also

Splinter groups

References

  1. ^ a b Abrahamian, Ervand (1982). Iran Between Two Revolutions. Princeton University Press. pp. 188. ISBN 0-691-10134-5.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Haddad Adel, Gholamali; Elmi, Mohammad Jafar; Taromi-Rad, Hassan. "Iran Party". Political Parties: Selected Entries from Encyclopaedia of the World of Islam. EWI Press. pp. 141–151. ISBN 9781908433022.
  3. ^ Foran, John Francis (1988). Social Structure and Social Chan. University of California, Berkeley. p. 627. Iran Party, a left-of-center noncommunist grouping of intellectuals, technocrats, professionals and students
  4. ^ Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). "Chronology of Iranian History Part 3". Encyclopædia Iranica. Bibliotheca Persica Press. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  5. ^ Khonsari, Mehrdad (1995). The National Movement of the Iranian Resistance 1979-1991: The role of a banned opposition movement in international politics (Ph.D. thesis). London School of Economics and Political Science. p. 80. Archived from the original on 2017-10-26. Retrieved 2017-10-25.
  6. ^ a b Abrahamian, Ervand (1982). Iran Between Two Revolutions. Princeton University Press. pp. 190. ISBN 0-691-10134-5.
  7. ^ Abrahamian, Ervand (1982). Iran Between Two Revolutions. Princeton University Press. pp. 300. ISBN 0-691-10134-5.
  8. ^ Abrahamian, Ervand (1982). Iran Between Two Revolutions. Princeton University Press. pp. 419. ISBN 0-691-10134-5.
  9. ^ Seliktar, Ofira (2000). Failing the Crystal Ball Test: The Carter Administration and the Fundamentalist Revolution in Iran. Praeger. p. 114. ISBN 9780275968724.
  10. ^ Lisa Daftari (12 June 2009). "Iran's Sham Elections". FrontPage Magazine. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  11. ^ William Branigin (17 June 1980). "Old Activists Hide Away in Mullah's Iran". The Washington Post. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  12. ^ Abrahamian, Ervand (2013). The Coup: 1953, the CIA, and the roots of modern U.S.-Iranian relations. New York: New Press, The. p. 50. ISBN 978-1-59558-826-5.
  13. ^ Azimi, Fakhreddin (2008). Quest for Democracy in Iran: A Century of Struggle Against Authoritarian Rule. Harvard University Press. p. 127. ISBN 0674027787.
  14. ^ Gheissari, Ali; Nasr, Vali (2006), Democracy in Iran: History and the Quest for Liberty, Oxford University Press, p. 48
  15. ^ Siavoshi, Sussan (1990). Liberal nationalism in Iran: the failure of a movement. Westview Press. p. 71. ISBN 9780813374130.
  16. ^ Abrahamian, Ervand (1982). Iran Between Two Revolutions. Princeton University Press. pp. 277. ISBN 0-691-10134-5.
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