Abdollah Hedayat (1899–1968) was an army officer who served as the chief of general staff at the Imperial Iran Army.

Early life and education

Hedayat was born in 1899 and was the son of Gholam Reza Hedayat, also known as Mokhber Al Dawlah. He graduated from the Nizam School of Mushir Al Dawlah. He studied military science in France receiving a degree from the Ecole de Guerre and continued his education in

Fontainebleau Fontainebleau ( , , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Functional area (France), metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the Kilometre zero#France, centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a Subprefectures in Franc ...

Career

Following graduation Hedayat joined the Imperial Army and served in various posts, including deputy chief of the General Staff in May 1942 and commandant of the Officers’ School in November 1942. He also taught at Tehran University of War. He was the undersecretary at the Ministry of War in April 1944 and acting minister of war in September 1944. He was named as the director of artillery in November 1945. He was again appointed undersecretary at the Ministry of War in February 1946. From 26 June 1950 to 11 March 1951 he served as the

minister of war A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

in the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Haj Ali Razmara Ali Razmara, also known as Haj Ali Razmara (; 30 March 1901 – 7 March 1951), was a military leader and prime minister of Iran. He was assassinated by 26-year-old Khalil Tahmassebi of the Fadayan-e Islam organization outside the Shah Mosqu ...

. Hedayat was one of the close colleagues of Razmara in the army. On 7 September 1953 he was named the minister of national defense to the cabinet led by Prime Minister

Fazlollah Zahedi Fazlollah Zahedi (, pronounced ; 17 May 1892 – 2 September 1963) was an Iranian military officer and statesman who replaced the Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh through a coup d'état supported by the United States and the United Kingd ...

. On 1955 Hedayat was appointed chief of the supreme commander's staff and became the first military officer to hold this title. He served in the post with rank of cabinet minister and was the minister of war from 1 April 1955 in the cabinet led by Prime Minister

Hossein Ala' Hosein Alā (; 13 December 1881 – 13 July 1964) was a prominent Iranian diplomat and statesman who held several key positions during the early 20th century, including two terms as Prime Minister. Background He was born in 1881 in Tehran and s ...

. His military rank was general. Hedayat's term ended in 1961, and he was replaced by

Abdol Hossein Hejazi Abdol Hossein Hejazi (1904–1969) was an Iranian military officer who served as the commander of the Imperial Iranian Army's Ground Forces between 1958 and 1960. Biography Hejazi was born in 1904. He graduated from École Spéciale Militaire d ...

in the post.

Arrest

Hedayat and two other generals were arrested in November 1962 due to corruption allegations in an anti-corruption campaign initiated by Prime Minister

Ali Amini Ali Amini (; 12 September 1905–12 December 1992) was an Iranian politician who was the Prime Minister of Iran from 1961 to 1962. He held several cabinet portfolios during the 1950s, and served as a member of parliament between 1947 and 19 ...

. It was the Shah who advised Ali Amini to arrest them. Hedayat was taken to the

Qasr prison The Museum of the Qasr Prison ( ''muze-ye zendān-e qasr''; formerly referred to as the Qasr Prison, ''zendān-e qasr'', meaning "Palace Prison") is a historical complex in Tehran, Iran. The building was one of the oldest political prisons i ...

and was tried between March and November 1963. He was sentenced to two-year prison in addition to the payment of a fine of nearly $16,000.

Personal life and death

Abdollah Hedayat was married to the sister of

Sadegh Hedayat Sadegh Hedayat (, ; 17 February 1903 – 9 April 1951) was an Iranian peoples, Iranian writer, translator, satirist, and poet. Best known for his novel ''The Blind Owl'', he was one of the earliest Iranian writers to adopt literary modernism in ...

. He was fluent in French. He died in 1968.

Honors

Hedayat was the recipient of the US

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

for his actions during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in the Imperial Iranian army which was awarded to him in September 1955.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hedayat, Abdollah 20th-century Iranian politicians 1899 births 1968 deaths Defence ministers of Iran Imperial Iranian Armed Forces four-star generals Iranian military personnel of World War II Iranian prisoners and detainees Foreign recipients of the Legion of Merit