Mehdi Azar (1901–1994) was an Iranian physician, professor of medicine and politician who served as the minister of culture in the period 1952–1953. In addition to his political activities he was one of the leading Iranian physicians in

kidney disease Kidney disease, or renal disease, technically referred to as nephropathy, is damage to or disease of a kidney. Nephritis is an inflammatory kidney disease and has several types according to the location of the inflammation. Inflammation can ...

Early life and education

Azar was born in 1901. His father was Haj Mirza Ali Tabrizi who was a cleric and a deputy in the Majlis. Azar graduated from Tehran Medical School in 1928 and also, from the University of Lyon.

Career

Azar was a faculty member at the

University of Tehran The University of Tehran (Tehran University or UT, fa, دانشگاه تهران) is the most prominent university located in Tehran, Iran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as its research and teaching pro ...

. He joined the National Front established by Mohammad Mosaddegh. Azar was its secretary of foreign relations. In 1949 Azar was imprisoned due to his political activities. He was appointed minister of culture in the second cabinet of Mosaddegh in July 1952. Azar was one of the cabinet members who were claimed by the Western publications, including ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

'', to be communist threats for Iran. The others were

Hossein Fatemi Hossein Fatemi ( fa, حسین فاطمی; also Romanized as Hoseyn Fātemi; 10 February 1917 – 10 November 1954) was an Iranian scholar. A close associate of Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh, he proposed nationalization of Iranian oil and ga ...

and Abdol Ali Lofti. Azar was in office until August 1953 when the cabinet was overthrown through a coup. Azar and Abdol Ali Lotfi were arrested by the military governorate on 2 September 1953. Following his retirement from politics Azad continued his profession as a physician specialized in kidney disease among adults. He was the founder of the first dialysis ward in Iran which was established at Pahlavi Hospital.

Personal life and death

Azar went into exile in the United States in 1982 and settled in Norfolk, Virginia. He died there in 1994 and was buried in Iran.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Azar, Mehdi 20th-century Iranian politicians 20th-century Iranian physicians 1901 births 1994 deaths Government ministers of Iran Iranian expatriates in the United States Iranian prisoners and detainees National Front (Iran) politicians Tehran University of Medical Sciences faculty Iranian nephrologists University of Lyon alumni