Abdolreza Ansari (1925–2020) was an Iranian engineer, bureaucrat and politician who held various government posts. He served as minister of labor (1959–1960) and minister of interior (1966–1969).

Early life and education

Ansari was born in 1925. His father was Colonel Mohammad Hossein Khan who was killed at age 26 in a battle against rebels before his birth. He graduated from 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 ...

and

Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Uta ...

, receiving degrees in agricultural engineering. He obtained his PhD in law from the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...

Career

Following his return to Iran in 1951 Ansari started his career at the Ministry of Labor. Then he joined the Ministry of National Economy and served as the deputy director of Iran-American Joint Fund for Economic Development and as the deputy minister of state for foreign assistance. He was also the treasurer general of Iran. He became a member of the

Nationalists' Party Party of Nationalists or Nationalists' Party ( fa, حزب ملیون, Ḥezb-e Melliun) was a conservative political party in Pahlavi era Iran, and government majority party from 1957 to 1960. The party was founded in 1957 by Manouchehr Eghbal on ...

led by

Manouchehr Eghbal Manouchehr Eghbal ( fa, منوچهر اقبال; 13 October 1909 – 25 November 1977) was an Iranian physician and royalist politician. He was the Prime Minister of Iran from 1957 to 1960. Early life and education Eghbal was born in 1909, and h ...

. In 1959 he was appointed minister of labor to 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 * Filing ...

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 ...

Manouchehr Eghbal, replacing Agha Khan Bakhtiar in the post. Ansari held the post until September 1960. He was appointed minister of interior in 1966 to the cabinet led by Prime Minister

Amir-Abbas Hoveyda Amir-Abbas Hoveyda ( fa, امیرعباس هویدا, Amīr 'Abbās Hoveyda; 18 February 1919 – 7 April 1979) was an Iranian economist and politician who served as Prime Minister of Iran from 27 January 1965 to 7 August 1977. He was the lo ...

. Ansari's term ended in 1969, and he was replaced by

Ataollah Khosravani Ataollah Khosravani (1919–date of death unknown) was an Iranian politician. He served as the secretary-general of Iran Novin Party and held several cabinet posts in the 1960s. Early life and education Khosravani was born in Tehran in 1919. He ...

in the post. Ansari's other positions included the managing director of Khuzestan Water and Power Authority, governor general of the

Khuzestan province Khuzestan Province (also spelled Xuzestan; fa, استان خوزستان ''Ostān-e Xūzestān'') is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It is in the southwest of the country, bordering Iraq and the Persian Gulf. Its capital is Ahvaz and it cover ...

and managing director of the Imperial Organization for Social Services. In the latter post Ansari was the deputy of

Princess Ashraf Pahlavi Ashraf ol-Molouk Pahlavi ( fa, اشرف‌الملوک پهلوی, , 26 October 1919 – 7 January 2016) was the twin sister of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran (Persia), and a member of the Pahlavi dynasty. She was considered the "pow ...

Later years, personal life and death

Ansari left Iran after the

regime change Regime change is the partly forcible or coercive replacement of one government regime with another. Regime change may replace all or part of the state's most critical leadership system, administrative apparatus, or bureaucracy. Regime change may ...

in 1979 and settled in Paris, France. He was one of the founding trustees of the Persia Education Foundation based in Paris. In 2016 he published a book entitled ''The Shah’s Iran - Rise and Fall Conversations with an Insider'' of which English edition was printed by

I.B. Tauris I.B. Tauris is an educational publishing house and imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing. It was an independent publishing house with offices in London and New York City until its purchase in May 2018 by Bloomsbury Publishing. It specialises in non- ...

. Ansari was married and had three children: Nazanin, Ketayoun and Mohammad Reza. He died in Paris in December 2020.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ansari, Abdolreza 20th-century Iranian engineers 1925 births 2020 deaths Government ministers of Iran Interior Ministers of Iran People of Pahlavi Iran Nationalists’ Party politicians Exiles of the Iranian Revolution in France 21st-century Iranian writers University of Tehran alumni Utah State University alumni Iranian governors University of California, Los Angeles alumni Agricultural engineers