Mozaffar Alam (مظفر اعلم ''Muzaffar Aʿlam'') (1882–1973) was an Iranian politician who served as the minister of foreign affairs. He was also a military official and governor of various Iranian provinces.

Early life and education

Alam was born in

Trabzon Trabzon (; Ancient Greek: Tραπεζοῦς (''Trapezous''), Ophitic Pontic Greek: Τραπεζούντα (''Trapezounta''); Georgian: ტრაპიზონი (''Trapizoni'')), historically known as Trebizond in English, is a city on the B ...

in 1882 as Sardar Entesar. His father, Mirzā ʿAli Akbar Khan Moʿtamed al Wezāra Qazvini, was a ranking officer in the ministry of foreign affairs and served in consular positions in Baku,

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

, Damascus and

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesipho ...

. Alam received primary and secondary education in Baku and

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the Capital city, capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is th ...

. Then he attended the Ottoman military school. Next he attended Saint Cyr military school receiving education in artillery field in France. He continued his training in infantry.

Career

After completing his education and returning to Iran, Alam began to work at the ministry of foreign affairs and then, was appointed Iranian consul in Damascus. However, he resigned from his post to pursue security career. He was promoted the deputy and then the chief of security forces. Next he began to serve as the head of the Cossack brigade and was promoted to the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

and then

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed t ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. After the 1921 coup, Alam was appointed governor of Isfahan. Later he served as the governor of

Kurdestan Kurdistan ( ku, کوردستان ,Kurdistan ; lit. "land of the Kurds") or Greater Kurdistan is a roughly defined geo-cultural territory in Western Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, languag ...

and then,

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

. In 1935 Alam was the head of the General Department of Trade. From 1938 to 1950 Alam served as the

minister of foreign affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between coun ...

in three different cabinets. He was appointed to the office in July 1938 replacing Ali Soheili in the post. Alam remained in the office until October 1940. In 1951 Alam was named

extraordinary ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

and plenipotentiary to Saudi Arabia. In August 1953 he was made ambassador to Iraq. On 17 August the Shah

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Mohammad Reza Pahlavi ( fa, محمدرضا پهلوی, ; 26 October 1919 – 27 July 1980), also known as Mohammad Reza Shah (), was the last ''Shah'' (King) of the Imperial State of Iran from 16 September 1941 until his overthrow in the Irani ...

left Iran due to the turmoil which would lead to the end of

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government ...

Mohammad Mosaddegh Mohammad Mosaddegh ( fa, محمد مصدق, ; 16 June 1882 – 5 March 1967) was an Iranian politician, author, and lawyer who served as the 35th Prime Minister of Iran from 1951 to 1953, after appointment by the 16th Majlis. He was a member of ...

. When he had a stopover in Baghdad he said the Iranian ambassador tried to have him arrested. In fact, Alam was following the orders of the Iranian Foreign Minister

Hossein Fatemi Hossein Fatemi ( fa, حسین فاطمی; also Romanized as Hoseyn Fātemi; 10 February 1917 – 10 November 1954) was an Iranian scholar. A close associate of Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh, he proposed nationalization of Iranian oil and gas ...

who had ordered the Iranian diplomats abroad not to welcome, visit, or receive the Shah. On 21 August 1953 the Shah returned to Baghdad from Rome. At the airport, he was officially received by the Crown Prince

'Abd al-Ilah 'Abd al-Ilah of Hejaz, ( ar, عبد الإله; also written Abdul Ilah or Abdullah; 14 November 1913 – 14 July 1958) was a cousin and brother-in-law of King Ghazi of the Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq and was regent for his first-cousin once rem ...

and members of the Iraqi cabinet. He declined to receive the Persian Ambassador to Iraq, Muzaffar Alam, or any members of his staff. Following the

1953 Iranian coup d'état The 1953 Iranian coup d'état, known in Iran as the 28 Mordad coup d'état ( fa, کودتای ۲۸ مرداد), was the overthrow of the democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh in favor of strengthening the monarchical rule of t ...

, Alam went to Syria where he stayed for a while before leaving for France. He stayed in France until 1971 after he had permission to return to Iran.

Death

Alam died in Tehran in 1973 at age 91. His family was not permitted to organize a funeral ceremony for him.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alam, Mozaffar 20th-century diplomats 20th-century Iranian politicians 1882 births 1973 deaths Ambassadors of Iran to Iraq Ambassadors of Iran to Saudi Arabia Foreign ministers of Iran Governors of Isfahan Imperial Iranian Army brigadier generals Iranian governors People from Trabzon Iranian expatriates in France Iranian expatriates in Syria People of Pahlavi Iran