Arteshbod A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

Gholam Reza Azhari ( fa, غلامرضا ازهاری; 18 February 1912 – 5 November 2001) was a military leader and

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

Early life and education

Azhari was born in

Shiraz Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the population of the city was 1,565,572 p ...

in 1912 (or in 1917). He was a graduate of Iran's war college. He was also trained at the

National War College The National War College (NWC) of the United States is a school in the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. History The National War Col ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

in the 1950s.

Career

Azhari worked at the CENTO. He was appointed chief of staff of Iran's armed forces in 1971 and his tenure lasted until 1978. 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. He formed the first military government in Iran since 1953. 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." Azhari had a heart attack in January 1979 and resigned on 2 January. Then he was succeeded by

Abbas Gharabaghi Arteshbod Abbas Gharabaghi ( fa, عباس قره‌باغی; 1 November 1918 – 14 October 2000) was the last chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces as well as deputy commander-in-chief of the Iranian Imperial Army during the rule of Moham ...

as the chief of the army staff.

Shapour Bakhtiar Shapour Bakhtiar ( fa, شاپور بختیار, ; 26 June 19146 August 1991) was an Iranian politician who served as the last Prime Minister of Iran under the Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi. In the words of historian Abbas Milani: "more than once ...

succeeded Azhari as prime minister. On 18 February 1979 Azhari was retired from the army ''

in absentia is Latin for absence. , a legal term, is Latin for "in the absence" or "while absent". may also refer to: * Award in absentia * Declared death in absentia, or simply, death in absentia, legally declared death without a body * Election in ab ...

''.

Cabinet

His cabinet was composed of nine members: * General

Gholam Ali Oveissi Arteshbod Gholam-Ali Oveissi ( fa, غلامعلی اویسی‎; 16 April 1918 – 7 February 1984) was an Iranian general and the Chief Commander of the Imperial Iranian Armed Forces under Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. He was the last general to he ...

, Military governor of Tehran (Labour and social affairs (acting)), * Lieutenant General Nasser Moghaddam, head of the Security Police (Energy), * General

(Interior), * Lieutenant General

Abdol Hassan Sa'adatmand Abdul (also transliterated as Abdal, Abdel, Abdil, Abdol, Abdool, or Abdoul; ar, عبد ال, ) is the most frequent transliteration of the combination of the Arabic word '' Abd'' (, meaning "Servant") and the definite prefix '' al / el'' (, mea ...

(Housing and development), * General Gholam-Reza Azhari (War) * General

Reza Azimi Reza Azimi () was a senior military officer during the reign of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. He was a general and held various military and government posts, including commander of the Imperial Iranian Ground Forces and minister of war. Biograph ...

(Defense) *

Amir Khosrow Afshar Amir Khosrow Afshar (1919–1999; fa, امیرخسرو افشار قاسملو) was an Iranian diplomat, who served as the minister of foreign affairs of Iran during the Shah era from 1978 to 1979. Biography Born in 1919 in Tehran, Afshar was a ...

(Foreign affairs), *

Mohammad Reza Amin Dr. Mohammad Reza Amin (c.1927 – 27 September 2003) was an Iranian academic who was Chancellor of Sharif University of Technology Sharif University of Technology (SUT; fa, دانشگاه صنعتی شریف) is a public research university in ...

(Mines and industry), *

Karim Motamedi Kareem (alternatively spelled Karim or Kerim) ( ar, کریم) is a common given name and surname of Arabic origin that means "generous", "noble", "honorable". It is also one of the Names of God in Islam in the Quran. Given name Karim * Karim Abd ...

(Posts and telecommunications) However, it is also reported that the government was of eleven men and six of them were military officers.

Honours

* U.S. Legion of Merit

Rank

Later years and death

Azhari suffered a heart attack while serving as prime minister. After leaving office he went to the US in January 1979 for heart surgery at Bethesda Naval Hospital. After surgery he did not return to Iran and settled in

McLean, Virginia McLean ( ) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County in Northern Virginia. McLean is home to many diplomats, military, members of Congress, and high-ranking government officials partially due to its prox ...

. 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 family and former Shah officials, including Azhari. He died of cancer in

, USA, on 5 November 2001.

References

Sources

* 'Alí Rizā Awsatí (), ''Iran in the Past Three Centuries'' (''Irān dar Se Qarn-e Goz̲ashteh'' - ), Volumes 1 and 2 (Paktāb Publishing - , Tehran, Iran, 2003). (Vol. 1), (Vol. 2). * {{DEFAULTSORT:Azhari, Gholam Reza 1910s births 2001 deaths Prime Ministers of Iran People from Shiraz Recipients of the Legion of Merit Iranian emigrants to the United States People of the Iranian Revolution Deaths from cancer in Virginia Exiles of the Iranian Revolution in the United States Imperial Iranian Armed Forces four-star generals 20th-century Iranian politicians 21st-century Iranian people