Gholam Reza Azhari
Iranian prime minister and army officer
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Arteshbod Gholam Reza Azhari (Persian: غلامرضا ازهاری; 18 February 1912 – 5 November 2001) was an Iranian military officer who served as the 39th and penultimate Prime Minister of Iran under the reign of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
Gholam Reza Azhari | |
|---|---|
غلامرضا ازهاری | |
Azhari in 1977 | |
| 39th Prime Minister of Iran | |
| In office 6 November 1978 – 31 December 1978 | |
| Monarch | Mohammad Reza Pahlavi |
| Preceded by | Jafar Sharif-Emami |
| Succeeded by | Shapour Bakhtiar |
| Chief of the Joint Staff | |
| In office 19 July 1971 – 22 December 1978 | |
| Preceded by | Fereydoun Djam |
| Succeeded by | Abbas Gharabaghi |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 18 February 1912 |
| Died | 5 November 2001 (aged 89) McLean, Virginia, U.S. |
| National War College | |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Pahlavi Iran |
| Branch/service | Imperial Iranian Army |
Years of service | 1935–1979 |
| Rank |  General |
| Battles/wars | |
Early life and education
Azhari was born in Shiraz in 1912 (or in 1917, according to some sources).[1] He was a graduate of Iran's war college and was also trained at the National War College in Washington in the 1950s.[1]
Career
Azhari commanded the 11th Infantry Division in 1958-60;[2] and the "Western Corps" or First Army at Kermanshah in 1342 SH (1963/64), later to be also commanded by Abbas Gharabaghi.
In 1966, Azhari became Iran's Military Representative to the Central Treaty Organisation (CENTO).[3] He was appointed chief of staff of Iran's armed forces in 1971 and his tenure lasted until 1978.[4] He served as interim prime minister of a military government until a civilian government could be chosen. He served as prime minister from 6 November 1978 to 31 December 1978.[5][6] He formed the first military government in Iran since 1953.[4]
On 21 December 1978, Azhari, then the prime minister, told U.S. Ambassador to Iran William Sullivan that, "You must know this and you must tell it to your government. This country is lost because the Shah cannot make up his mind."[7] Azhari left office on 2 January 1979[8] after reportedly having a heart attack.[9] He was succeeded by Abbas Gharabaghi as the chief of the army staff.[10] Shapour Bakhtiar succeeded Azhari as prime minister.[10][11] On 18 February 1979 Azhari was retired from the army in absentia.[12]
Cabinet
His cabinet was composed of nine members:[13][14]
- General Gholam Ali Oveissi, Military governor of Tehran (Labour and social affairs (acting)),
- Lieutenant General Nasser Moghaddam, head of the Security Police (Energy),
- General Abbas Gharabaghi (Interior),
- Lieutenant General Abdol Hassan Sa'adatmand (Housing and development),
- General Gholam-Reza Azhari (War)
- General Reza Azimi (Defense)
- Amir Khosrow Afshar (Foreign affairs),
- Mohammad Reza Amin (Mines and industry),
- Karim Motamedi (Posts and telecommunications)
- Admiral Kamal Habibollahi (Education and Culture & Art)
However, it is also reported that the government was of eleven men and six of them were military officers.[15]
Honours
Rank
| Age | Ranks military | Years |
|---|---|---|
| 22 | Cadet officer | 1933 |
| 24 | Second Lieutenant | 1935 |
| 26 | First lieutenant | 1937 |
| 28 | Captain | 1939 |
| 31 | Major | 1943 |
| 34 | Lieutenant Colonel | 1946 |
| 36 | Colonel | 1948 |
| 46 | Brigadier general | 1958 |
| 48 | Major general | 1960 |
| 52 | Lieutenant general | 1964 |
| 58 | General | 1970 |
Later years and death
Azhari suffered a heart attack while serving as prime minister.[9] After leaving office he went to the US in January 1979 for heart surgery at Bethesda Naval Hospital.[9] After surgery he did not return to Iran and settled in McLean, Virginia.[9] In the immediate aftermath of the revolution, Ayatollah Sadegh Khalkhali, a religious judge and then chairman of the Revolutionary Court, informed the press that the death sentence was passed on the members of the Pahlavi dynasty and the Shah's former officials, including Azhari.[16]
He died of cancer in McLean, Virginia, in the U.S. on 5 November 2001.[9]
