Hosein Alā (; 13 December 1881 – 13 July 1964) was a prominent

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

ian 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 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. ...

and spent his early years in London. He was educated at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

and studied law at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

after which he was admitted to the bar at

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

. He became involved in politics through a position in the

Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit organization, nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership or ...

Ministry of Iran.

Career

In his early political life Ala served as the chef de cabinet of the Iranian foreign ministry from 1905 to 1916. Subsequently, he was a member of an Iranian diplomatic delegation sent to the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. Despite the efforts of the delegation, led by Aliqoli Massoud Ansari, and assisted ably by Ala, the British government of the time nixed Iran's hopes of officially attending the diplomatic gathering. Moreover, with the Iranian Government in Tehran having recently negotiated the Anglo-Iranian Agreement it was decided that Ansari and Ala would be banished to foreign legations to ensure they would not act as lightning rods against the agreement. Ala was appointed as the Iranian diplomatic envoy to Spain in 1920. Shortly thereafter Ala was appointed as Iran's lead diplomat in Washington where he attempted to interest American oil companies to agree to invest in Iran, to undercut the monopoly of the

Anglo-Persian Oil Company The Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC; ) was a British company founded in 1909 following the discovery of a large oil field in Masjed Soleiman, Persia (Iran). The British government purchased 51% of the company in 1914, gaining a controlling numbe ...

. He then became a member of parliament and was among the opposition to the fall of the

Qajar dynasty The Qajar family (; 1789–1925) was an Iranian royal family founded by Mohammad Khan (), a member of the Qoyunlu clan of the Turkoman-descended Qajar tribe. The dynasty's effective rule in Iran ended in 1925 when Iran's '' Majlis'', conven ...

. He was the governor of Bank Melli Iran from 1933 to 1934 and from 1941 to 1942. From 1934 to 1936, Alā was ambassador to the United Kingdom.'' The International Who's Who 1943–44''. 8th edition. George Allen & Unwin, London, 1943, p. 9. Alā was Iranian Ambassador to the United States from 1946 to 1950. He was elected prime minister by parliament following the assassination of Haj Ali Razmara in 1951. His premiership, however, was not to last long, and he resigned less than seven weeks later on 27 April, after

Mohammad Mosaddegh Mohammad Mosaddegh (, ; 16 June 1882 – 5 March 1967) was an Iranian politician, author, and lawyer who served as the 30th Prime Minister of Iran from 1951 to 1953, elected by the 1950 Iranian legislative election, 16th Majlis. He was a membe ...

had submitted another oil nationalisation bill to parliament two days earlier. The issue of nationalisation was highly contentious, and Alā did not want to appear to oppose it. During his brief administration, the term of service of members of parliament was increased from 2 to 4 years. He was later appointed as Court Minister, remaining one until his death. Alā was appointed prime minister for the second time in 1955, and in November 1955 survived an assassination attempt at the funeral of a son of Abol-Ghasem Kashani. He was replaced in April 1957 after an upsetting international incident involving the murder of three Americans by outlaw Ahmad Shah and his gang. In 1963, the protests led by religious figures intensified in Iran due to the policies of 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 ...

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 ...

Mohammad Ali Varasteh Mohammad Ali Varasteh (1896–1989) was an Iranian statesman who held several cabinet posts in the 1950s and also, served as the governor of Isfahan province. He was the head of the regency council which was formed soon after the Shah Mohammad ...

, Abdollah Entezam and Ala personally expressed their concerns about Shah's policies and their potential results which made all of them outsiders in the court of the Shah. In addition, Ala' and Entezam were dismissed from the Iranian Senate to which they had just appointed.

Personal life and death

Alā died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

on 13 July 1964 at the age of 82. He left a son and a daughter, and was survived by his wife, who died in 1981. His son, Fereydoun Ala, was the founding director of the National Iranian Blood Transfusion Service and is honorary president of the Iranian Comprehensive Haemophilia Care Center. His daughter, Irān, is married to Eskandar Firouz, the noted authority on Iranian fauna and environmental topics.

Honours and awards

* Order of the Crown, 1st class * Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria (1958)

References and sources

;References ;Sources The following reference was used for the above writing: 'Alí Rizā Awsatí (عليرضا اوسطى), ''Iran in the Past Three Centuries'' (''Irān dar Se Qarn-e Goz̲ashteh'' – ايران در سه قرن گذشته), Volumes 1 and 2 (Paktāb Publishing – انتشارات پاکتاب, Tehran, Iran, 2003). (Vol. 1), (Vol. 2).

External links