Mostafa Chamran Save'ei () (2 October 1932 – 21 June 1981) 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 ...

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

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 ...

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

and

guerrilla Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...

fighter who served as the first

defense minister A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

of post-revolutionary Iran and a member of parliament as well as the commander of paramilitary volunteers in

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 ...

, known as " Irregular Warfare Headquarters". He was killed during the Iran–Iraq War.

Early life and education

Chamran was born into a religious family on 2 October 1932 in Tehran. He received religious education from Ayatollah Taleqani and Morteza Motahari. He studied at

Alborz High School Alborz High School () is a college-preparatory gifted high school located in the heart of Tehran, Iran. It is one of the first modern high schools in Asia and the Middle East, named after the Alborz mountain range, north of Tehran. Its place in th ...

and then graduated from

University of Tehran The University of Tehran (UT) or Tehran University (, ) is a public collegiate university in Iran, and the oldest and most prominent Iranian university located in Tehran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as ...

with a bachelor's degree in

electromechanics Electromechanics combine processes and procedures drawn from electrical engineering and mechanical engineering. Electromechanics focus on the interaction of electrical and mechanical systems as a whole and how the two systems interact with each ...

. In the late 1950s, he moved to

the United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

for higher education, obtaining an M.S. degree from the

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

. He then went on to obtain his PhD in electrical engineering and

plasma physics Plasma () is a state of matter characterized by the presence of a significant portion of charged particles in any combination of ions or electrons. It is the most abundant form of ordinary matter in the universe, mostly in stars (including th ...

in 1963 from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. In the book ''Self-construction and development'' he said he was hired as a research staff scientist at

Bell Laboratories Nokia Bell Labs, commonly referred to as ''Bell Labs'', is an American industrial research and development company owned by Finnish technology company Nokia. With headquarters located in Murray Hill, New Jersey, the company operates several lab ...

and

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

Jet Propulsion Laboratory The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a Federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) in La Cañada Flintridge, California, Crescenta Valley, United States. Founded in 1936 by Cali ...

in the 1960s.

Career and activities

Chamran was one of the senior members of the Freedom Movement led by

Mehdi Bazargan Mehdi Bazargan (; 1 September 1907 – 20 January 1995) was an Iranian scholar, academic, long-time pro-democracy activist and head of Interim government of Iran, 1979, Iran's interim government. One of the leading figures of Iranian Revolutio ...

in the 1960s. He was part of the radical external wing together with

Ebrahim Yazdi Ebrahim Yazdi (; 26 September 1931 – 27 August 2017) was an Iranian peoples, Iranian politician, pharmacist, and diplomat who served as deputy prime minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs (Iran), minister of foreign affairs in the Interim Go ...

Sadegh Ghotbzadeh Sadegh Ghotbzadeh (, 24 February 1936 – 15 September 1982) was an Iranian politician who served as a close aide of Ayatollah Khomeini during his 1978 exile in France and was foreign minister (30 November 1979 – August 1980) during the Ir ...

and

Ali Shariati Ali Shariati Mazinani (, 23November 193318June 1977) was an Iranian revolutionary and sociologist who specialised in the sociology of religion. He is regarded as one of the most influential Iranian intellectuals of the 20th century. He has be ...

. Following graduation, Chamran went to Cuba to receive military training. In December 1963, he along with Ghotbzadeh and Yazdi left the US for

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

where he was trained in guerilla warfare. They met the Egyptian authorities to establish an anti-Shah organization in the country, which was later called SAMA, special organization for unity and action. Chamran was chosen as its military head. Upon his return to the US in 1965 he founded a group, Red Shiism, in San Jose with the aim of training militants. His brother, Mehdi, was also part of the group. In 1968, he founded another group, the Muslim Students' Association of America (MSA), and it was led by Ebrahim Yazdi. The group managed to establish branches in the United Kingdom and France. In 1971 Chamran left the US for

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 joined the camps of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Amal movement. He became a leading and founding member of the Islamic revolutionary movement in the Middle East, organizing and training guerrillas and revolutionary forces in

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. During the civil war in Lebanon he actively cooperated with Musa Al Sadr, founder of the Amal movement. Chamran also became an Amal member and "right-hand man of Sadr". Chamran along with Sadegh Ghotbzadeh was part of the faction, called the "Syrian mafia", in the court of Khomeini, and there was a feud between his group and the Libya-friendly group, led by Mohammad Montazeri. With the

Islamic 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 Im ...

taking place in Iran, Chamran returned to Iran. In 1979, he served as deputy prime minister in the cabinet of Mehdi Bazargan. He led the military operations in

Kurdistan Kurdistan (, ; ), or Greater Kurdistan, is a roughly defined geo- cultural region in West Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, languages, and national identity have historically been based. G ...

where

Kurds Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syri ...

rebelled against the

Interim Government of Iran The Interim Government of Iran () was the first government established in Iran after the Iranian Revolution. The regime was headed by Mehdi Bazargan, one of the members of the Freedom Movement of Iran, and formed on the order of Ayatollah Kh ...

. He served as minister of defense from September 1979 to 1980, being the first civil defense minister of the Islamic Republic. In March 1980, he was elected to the

Majlis of Iran The Islamic Consultative Assembly (), also called the Iranian Parliament, the Iranian Majles (Arabicised spelling Majlis) or ICA, is the unicameral national legislative body of Iran. The parliament currently consists of 290 representatives, an ...

(the Iranian Parliament) as a representative of Tehran. In May 1980, he was named the Ayatollah's representative to the Supreme Council of National Defense.

Personal life

Chamran was married to a woman from Lebanon, Ghadeh Jaber.

Death

Chamran led an infantry unit during the

and received two wounds in his left leg by shrapnel from a mortar shell. However, he refused to leave his unit. He was killed in Dehlavieh on 21 June 1981 as the war was raging on. His death was regarded as "suspicious" and the related details have remained unclear. Chamran was buried in the

Behesht-e Zahra Behesht-e Zahra ( ; ) is the largest cemetery in Iran. Located in the southern part of metropolitan Tehran, it is connected to the city by Tehran Metro Line 1. History In the early 1950s, all the cemeteries in Tehran were supposed to be replac ...

cemetery in Tehran.

Legacy

Ayatullah Khomeini publicly proclaimed Chamran as a "proud commander of Islam". Chamran was posthumously given a hero status, and many buildings and streets in Iran and Lebanon were named for him, as well as a major expressway. In 2012, Mohsen Alavi Pour published Chamran's biography. A species of moth was named after him in 2013. Nick Robinson published an English biography of Chamran in the United Kingdom in 2013, ''22: Not a new lifestyle for those who thirst for humanity!''. In 2014 a film named '' Che'' (

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

: چ) directed by

Ebrahim Hatamikia Ebrahim Hatamikia (; born 23 September 1961) is an Iranian film director, screenwriter, cinematographer and actor. Hatamikia is a prolific proponent of films depicting the Iran–Iraq War's impact on Iran. His films are considered some of the be ...

, was released to honour Chamran; the film portrays two days of Chamran's life after the Islamic Revolution. In 2017 Iranian film director

Reza Mirkarimi Reza Mirkarimi (; born 28 January 1967) is an Iran, Iranian screenwriter and film director. Early life He graduated from Fine Arts University in graphic arts in Tehran. Career His cinema activities started from 1987 with a short film named ''F ...

made an animated film about Chamran.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chamran, Mostafa 20th-century Iranian engineers 20th-century Iranian politicians 1932 births 1981 deaths Alborz High School alumni Amal Movement politicians Burials at Behesht-e Zahra Defence ministers of Iran Deputy prime ministers of Iran Deputies of Tehran, Rey, Shemiranat and Eslamshahr Iranian Irregular Warfare Headquarters guerrillas Freedom Movement of Iran MPs Iranian military personnel killed in the Iran–Iraq War Iranian revolutionaries Members of the 1st Islamic Consultative Assembly Military personnel killed by friendly fire Military personnel killed in action National Front (Iran) student activists People of the Iranian Revolution Texas A&M University alumni UC Berkeley College of Engineering alumni University of Tehran alumni Unsolved murders in Iran