Abolghassem Nadjm (Najm ol-Molk) (), ''Abolqāsem Najm''/''Abolqassem Najm'' (11 May 1892 – October 19, 1983) was an

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, cabinet minister, and

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

Early life and education

His father was Mirza Mahmoud Shirazi, a merchant, who died when Abolqasem was an infant. His mother was the daughter of Iran's first modern physicist and astronomer, Mirza Abdulqaffar Nadjm ol-Molk. Abdulqaffar, who taught mathematics and physics at Dar ul-Funun, took Abolqasem under his custody after Abolqasem was orphaned. Abolqasem received his basic education from his grandfather and later inherited his grandfather's title of "Nadjm ol-Molk" (star of the nation) after Mirza Abdulqaffar's retirement. He studied at the

Tehran School of Political Sciences The Faculty of Law and Political Science at University of Tehran () is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in Iran. It was initially established in College of Political Science in 1899 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Most of th ...

Diplomatic career

After graduation he entered the service of the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

in 1912 as an

attaché In diplomacy, an attaché () is a person who is assigned ("to be attached") to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency. Although a loanword from French, in English the word is not modified ac ...

. He was Iran's ambassador to the

Third Reich Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

, but was appointed to France upon his own request just prior to the outbreak of the Second World War. In 1937, when Nadjm was Iran's ambassador to France, the French journal L'Europe Nouvelle criticized the economic condition of Iran.

Reza Shah Pahlavi Reza Shah Pahlavi born Reza Khan (15 March 1878 – 26 July 1944) was shah of Iran from 1925 to 1941 and founder of the roughly 53 years old Pahlavi dynasty. Originally a military officer, he became a politician, serving as minister of war an ...

demanded an apology and received one. A French columnist reopened the wound one month later by rehearsing the incident under the punning headline "''n'y avait pas la de quoi fouetter un Shah''". This was a parody of the French phrase "there was nothing there with which to beat a cat", (playing on the words "shah" and "''chat''", which is French for cat) suggesting that the King of Kings had made a fuss about nothing. The poor pun was enough to make

immediately recall Nadjm to Tehran "for an explanation", and withdraw his promise to lend Iranian art objects to the coming Paris International Exhibition which was planned for May 1937. Nadjm later served as Iran's ambassador to Japan, until the relations between the two countries were severed due to Iran's declaration of war to the Axis in April 1943. Nadjm was summoned to Tehran and the Japanese delegation were ordered to leave Tehran at the same time. He was then appointed as the ambassador to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. As a neighboring country and a Persian-speaking monarchy, Afghanistan was considered very important and the post of ambassador in Kabul had more significance attached to it than it has had in more modern times.

Political career

He was the minister of finance in

Ebrahim Hakimi Ebrahim Hakimi (; 1869 – 19 October 1959) was an Iranian statesman who served as Prime Minister of Iran on three occasions. Early life and education Born in Tabriz in 1869, Ḥakimi was part of "an old and prominent family of court physicians" ...

's cabinet and tried to fight corruption, but was held back by interference from the royal family. This resulted in his resignation and the downfall of the cabinet. These events are described by Mehdiqoli Hedayat in his memoirs: His last government job was as the governor of the oil-rich

Khuzestan Khuzestan province () is one of the 31 Provinces of Iran. Located in the southwest of the country, the province borders Iraq and the Persian Gulf, covering an area of . Its capital is the city of Ahvaz. Since 2014, it has been part of Iran's ...

province. He resigned from this post, citing interference from the royal family in his day-to-day governance of the province. He was elected as a

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

in the first

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

and served only one term. During this time, he was a member of the Oil Commission, a group of politicians whose work eventually resulted in the

nationalization Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with p ...

of the Iranian oil industry.http://www2.irib.ir/occasions/naft%5CNaftEN.HTM

Later years

Nadjm spent the last 30 years of his life in retirement. Long after retirement from politics, Nadjm retained his good name as one of the few

Pahlavi Pahlavi may refer to: Iranian royalty *Seven Parthian clans, ruling Parthian families during the Sasanian Empire *Pahlavi dynasty, the ruling house of Imperial State of Persia/Iran from 1925 until 1979 **Reza Shah Pahlavi (1878–1944), Shah of ...

era politicians who were clean of financial and ethical corruption. Near the end of his life, the

Shah Shāh (; ) is a royal title meaning "king" in the Persian language.Yarshater, Ehsa, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII, no. 1 (1989) Though chiefly associated with the monarchs of Iran, it was also used to refer to the leaders of numerous Per ...

, embattled by the

Iranian revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...

, called on him to return to the government as a part of the reforms intended to quell the revolutionary fervor. The ailing Nadjm could not comply. Abolghassem Nadjm died in

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

at the age of 89, shortly after the Iranian Revolution. His brother Mohammad Hossein Nadjm was also an Iranian diplomat, who served as Iranian ambassador to

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

and

chargé d'affaires A (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador. The term is Frenc ...

in Paris.

References

*''Iran in the Last 3rd Centuries'' by Alireza Avsati. Published Tehran, 2003. Vol 1 Vol 2 {{DEFAULTSORT:Nadjm 1892 births 1983 deaths Ministers of foreign affairs of Iran Iranian governors Members of the National Consultative Assembly Ambassadors of Iran to Germany Ambassadors of Iran to France Ambassadors of Iran to Japan Ambassadors of Iran to Afghanistan 20th-century Iranian politicians Politicians from Tehran

Early life and education

Diplomatic career

Political career

Later years

See also

References