Fereydoun Djam (; 1914 – 24 May 2008) was a senior Iranian Imperial Army official, and the son of former Iranian prime minister

Mahmoud Djam Mahmoud Modir al-Molk Djam (; 1880 – 10 August 1969) was a prime minister of Iran from 1935 to 1939. Early life Djam was born in Tabriz in around 1880. Career Djam learned French from a Frenchman in Tabriz and began to work as a translator at ...

Career

Djam served as head of the Iranian Imperial Army Corps from 1969 to 1971. He was commissioned into the Cavalry in 1934 and had trained in the

Prussian Staff College The Prussian Staff College, also Prussian War College () was the highest military facility of the Kingdom of Prussia to educate, train, and develop German General Staff, general staff officers. Location It originated with the ''Akademie für ...

for the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

in 1936-37 and served for a while as a mercenary officer in the Royalist force of Spain in 1938. He left the army because of professional conflicts with

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (26 October 1919 – 27 July 1980) was the last List of monarchs of Iran, Shah of Iran, ruling from 1941 to 1979. He succeeded his father Reza Shah and ruled the Imperial State of Iran until he was overthrown by the ...

and retired in 1973. After resignation from the army he became Iranian ambassador to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

for a few years up to 1978. Then he moved to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. To the last government led by

Shahpour Bakhtiar Shapour Bakhtiar (, ; 26 June 19146 August 1991) was an Iranian politician who served as the last Prime Minister of Iran under the rule of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. In the words of the historian Abbas Milani: "more than once in the tone of a jeremi ...

before revolution he was proposed to be defense minister, but according to his interview later on due to lack of authority he did not accept the position. He believed that the declaration of impartiality by army core at the last day of revolution was a betrayal. Following the revolution he did not come back to the country but during the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...

he was supporting the Iranian army.

Personal life

Fereydoun Djam born on 1914 in

Tabriz Tabriz (; ) is a city in the Central District (Tabriz County), Central District of Tabriz County, in the East Azerbaijan province, East Azerbaijan province of northwestern Iran. It serves as capital of the province, the county, and the distric ...

, Iran. His father

was prime minister of Iran from 1935 to 1939. He attended in military schools in Tehran and Saint-Cyr. Later he graduated from military academy in UK. In an arranged marriage Fereydoun married to Princess Shams in 1937. They divorced after death of

Reza Shah 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 ...

in 1944.

Legacy

In 2011, the

School of Oriental and African Studies The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury area ...

(SOAS) was awarded a gift of £2 million by the Fereydoun Djam Charitable Trust to promote

Iranian studies Iranian studies ( '), also referred to as Iranology and Iranistics, is an interdisciplinary field dealing with the research and study of the civilization, history, literature, art and culture of Iranian peoples. It is a part of the wider field ...

. As part of this initiative, SOAS has introduced new scholarships in Iranian studies as well as an annual lecture series to promote diverse aspects of Iranian studies. The annual lectures are hosted by the Centre for Iranian Studies at SOAS and are named after Fereydoun’s son, Kamran Djam, who predeceased his parents in 1989.

References

1914 births 2008 deaths National Resistance Movement of Iran politicians Politicians from Tabriz Ambassadors of Iran to Spain Imperial Iranian Armed Forces four-star generals 20th-century Iranian people 21st-century Iranian people Children of prime ministers of Iran {{Iran-politician-stub