The Senate () was the

upper house An upper house is one of two Legislative chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted p ...

legislative chamber in the

Imperial State of Iran Imperial is that which relates to an empire, Emperor, emperor/empress, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania ...

from 1949 to 1979. A

bicameral legislature Bicameralism is a type of legislature that is divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single ...

had been established in the 1906

Persian Constitutional Revolution The Persian Constitutional Revolution (, or ''Enghelāb-e Mashrūteh''), also known as the Constitutional Revolution of Iran, took place between 1905 and 1911 during the Qajar Iran, Qajar era. The revolution led to the establishment of a Majl ...

but the Senate was not actually formed until after the 1949 Constituent Assembly election, as an expression of Shah

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 ...

's desire for better distribution of power. Half of the sixty seats in the senate were directly appointed by the Shah, and the other half were directly elected, fifteen represented

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 the rest were elected from other regions. The Senate was disbanded after 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 ...

in 1979, when the new constitution established a

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

legislature. , the former Senate building was used by the

Assembly of Experts The Assembly of Experts (), also translated as the Assembly of Experts of the Leadership or as the Council of Experts, is the deliberative body empowered to appoint the Supreme Leader of Iran. All directly elected members must first be vetted ...

History

Constitution

Established as per Chapter 3, Article 45 of the

Persian Constitution of 1906 The Persian Constitution of 1906 (), was the first constitution of the Sublime State of Iran (Persia) and a result of the Persian Constitutional Revolution. It was written by Hassan Pirnia, Hossein Pirnia, and Esmail Momtaz od-Dowleh, among ...

Building

The Senate House of Iran was designed by architect Heydar Ghiaï in 1955.Max Gérard, ''Iran Senate House Heydar Ghiaï'', Editions Draeger, 1976 The construction was led by Rahmat Safai, the dome being one of the most technically challenging projects in the entire endeavor. The building is depicted on the reverse of the Iranian 100 rials banknote. File:Dome of the Tehran Senate House, 1971 (internal view).jpg, Interior Dome of Senate Chamber, Heydar Ghiaï, Architect File:Column of the main facade of the Tehran Senate House (1972).jpg, Column of main Facade, Heydar Ghiaï, Architect

Members

* Mahmoud Hessaby (1951–1963). * Ali Dashti for 1954-1979. * Jafar Sharif-Emami, Prime Minister of Iran (1960-1961 & 1978), was a member of the Iranian Senate. He was its President for a number of years. *Jamshid Aalam (1973–1979)

List of speakers

Dissolution

During its years of activity, the Senate was once dissolved in May 1961. Following 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 ...

in 1979, the government became

, the senate was dissolved and the new

Majlis (, pl. ') is an Arabic term meaning 'sitting room', used to describe various types of special gatherings among common interest groups of administrative, social or religious nature in countries with linguistic or cultural connections to the Mus ...

convened in the senate building.

Elections

Votes cast

Seats won

Composition

1967

As of 1967, the composition of the Senate included 48 members of the ruling New Iran Party and 11 members of the loyal opposition People's Party, while one senator was unaffiliated.

1971

As of 1971, neither the New Iran Party nor the People's Party held a majority in the Senate, and had 27 and 9 members respectively. The remaining 24 senators were nonpartisan.

1975

In 1975, all senator were members of the country's single-party.

Major events

*1950 (February 9), first inaugural session presided over by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. *1952,

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 ...

managed to obtain power to

rule by decree Rule by decree is a style of governance allowing quick, unchallenged promulgation of law by a single person or group of people, usually without legislative approval. While intended to allow rapid responses to a crisis, rule by decree is easily ab ...

— first, for a six-month period and then extended — due to his popularity. Later, he organized a

plebiscite A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a direct vote by the electorate (rather than their representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either binding (resulting in the adoption of a new policy) or adv ...

in 1953, won the votes, and dissolved both the Majlis and Senate. Upon Mossadeq's ouster, the legislative bodies were revived. *1961, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi dissolved both the Majlis and Senate; some time later they were restored. *1979 Senate approves the government of Shapour Bakhtiar."Iranian senate's approval of Shahpour Bakhtiar's government noted"
ABC Evening News for Monday, Jan 15, 1979

Bibliography

*M. Ghiai, ''Iran Senate House'', Max Gerard Edt.Draeger Paris, 1976

References and notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Senate Of Iran 1949 in Iran Legislature of Iran Buildings and structures in Tehran National upper houses