Regency Council (Iran)
Carried out duties of Shah of Iran, 13–22 January 1979
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Regency Council (Persian: شورای سلطنت, romanized: Šūrā-ye Salṭanat) of the Imperial State of Iran, was a nine-member body formed on 13 January 1979 by Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi to carry out his duties[1] after he left Iran amidst the Iranian Revolution and served as the symbol of his continued claim on power.[2]
The council was practically dissolved within days, when its head resigned on 22 January 1979 to meet Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.[2]
Background
1953 Regency Council
On 28 February 1953, it was reported that in a meeting with Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh, the Shah had agreed that during his absence in Iran a regency council consisting of Mosaddegh, Gholamreza Pahlavi (Shah's brother) and Hossein Ala' (Minister of Royal Court) should be appointed to act as the regency council.[3]
1979 Regency Council members
| # | Name[4] | Latest Office[4] | Position in the Council |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jalaleddin Tehrani | Former Senator | Head |
| 2 | Mohammad Ali Varasteh | Former Minister of Finance | Deputy |
| 3 | Shapour Bakhtiar | Prime Minister | Member |
| 4 | Mohammad Sajjadi | President of the Senate | |
| 5 | Javad Saeid | Speaker of the Parliament | |
| 6 | Gen. Abbas Gharabaghi | Chief of the Joint Staff of the Imperial Iranian Army | |
| 7 | Aligholi Ardalan | Minister of the Royal Court | |
| 8 | Abdollah Entezam | Former Chairman of National Iranian Oil Company | |
| 9 | Abdolhossein Ali Abadi | Former Prosecutor-General |
Tehrani resigned from the post due to tensions between him and Abbas Gharabaghi.[5] He was replaced by Mohammad Ali Varasteh as the head of the council.[5]
