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Jamshid Amouzegar

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Jamshid Amouzegar
Amouzegar in 1977
Prime Minister of Iran
In office
7 August 1977 – 27 August 1978
MonarchMohammad Reza Shah
Preceded byAmir-Abbas Hoveyda
Succeeded byJafar Sharif-Emami
Minister of Interior
In office
1 March 1974 – 7 August 1977
Prime MinisterAmir-Abbas Hoveida
Preceded byKamal Hassani
Succeeded byGholam Reza Azhari
Minister of Finance
In office
1 February 1965 – 1 March 1974
Prime MinisterAmir-Abbas Hoveida
Preceded byAmir-Abbas Hoveida
Succeeded byHushang Ansary
Personal details
Born(1923-06-25)25 June 1923
Tehran, Qajar Persia
Died27 September 2016(2016-09-27) (aged 93)
Rockville, Maryland, U.S.
Political partyRastakhiz Party
Spouse
Ulriche Amouzegar
​
(died 2005)​
Parent(s)Habibollah Amouzegar (father)
Ehteram Sadat Azmounian (mother)
RelativesJahangir Amuzegar (brother)
Alma materCornell University
Signature

Jamshid Amouzegar (Persian: جمشید آموزگار‎; 25 June 1923[1] – 27 September 2016) was an Iranian economist, politician, and the prime minister of Iran from 7 August 1977 until his resignation on 27 August 1978. Prior to that, he served as the minister of interior and minister of finance in the cabinet of Amir-Abbas Hoveida. He was the leader of Rastakhiz Party during his tenure as prime minister of Iran.

Early life and education

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Jamshid was born on 25 June 1923 in Tehran, Persia. His father was Habibollah Amouzegar, a leading lawyer and politician, and he had a brother, Jahangir.[2]

He graduated from Tehran University with degrees in law and engineering, and then attended Cornell University, where he received a Ph.D in 1950.[3]

Career

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Amouzegar served as deputy minister in Iran's ministry of health under Jahanshah Saleh in 1955.

In 1959, Amouzegar replaced Hassan Akhavi as agriculture minister when Akhavi was removed from the cabinet of Prime Minister Manouchehr Eghbal.[4] He was appointed minister of labor and then minister of health in the cabinet led by Prime Minister Hasan-ali Mansour. He subsequently became minister of finance in the cabinet of Amir Abbas Hoveida after the assassination of Prime Minister Mansour in 1964, remaining in that post for nine years.

From 1965 to 1974, he headed several ordinary meetings of the OPEC.[5] In 1971, he and Saudi Oil Minister Ahmed Zaki Yamani were instrumental in implementing the series of price hikes that ultimately quadrupled the price of oil and provided the resources for Iran to modernize its infrastructure, agriculture, and defense. For this accomplishment, Amouzegar was awarded the Taj-e Iran, first-class, an honor normally reserved for only the prime minister and former prime ministers. He was appointed minister of interior in 1974. On 21 December 1975 he was taken hostage by the Venezuelan terrorist Carlos the Jackal during an OPEC meeting. Carlos was ordered to execute him but did not do so, and Amouzegar was released along with the other hostages after a few days. Carlos flew him and a Saudi to Algeria, where they were released.[citation needed]

In 1977, he became chairman of the Rastakhiz Party (Resurrection), having led the progressive faction against finance minister Hushang Ansary's liberal constructionist faction. Soon after Jimmy Carter became president of the United States, Amouzegar was appointed Prime Minister of Iran on 7 August 1977, succeeding Amir Abbas Hoveyda in the post.[6] However, he became unpopular as he attempted to slow the overheated economy with measures that, although generally thought necessary, triggered a downturn in employment and private sector profits that would later compound the government's problems. On 27 August 1978, he resigned, and was replaced by Jafar Sharif-Emami.[6][7]

Amouzegar did not return to Iran after leaving in 1978. He lived in Chevy Chase, Maryland, and later in Rockville, Maryland,[8] and was a consultant to the government of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.[8]

Death

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He died in Rockville, Maryland, on 27 September 2016, at the age of 93.[8]

References

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  1. ^ Profile of Jamshid Amouzegar
  2. ^ Marziyeh Bazyar; Robert Steele (May 2023). ""The Shah's House Became the People's House": Narrating Iran's Modern History at the Pahlavi Dynasty Museum". Iranian Studies. 56 (3): 504. doi:10.1017/irn.2023.23. S2CID 258985280.
  3. ^ "Jamshid Amouzegar, former Iranian prime minister, dies at 93", The Washington Post, October 19, 2016
  4. ^ Siavush Randjbar-Daemi (July 2020). "The Tudeh Party of Iran and the peasant question, 1941–53". Middle Eastern Studies. 56 (6): 4. doi:10.1080/00263206.2020.1781627. hdl:10023/24619. S2CID 225591030.
  5. ^ "162nd Ordinary Meeting" (PDF). OPEC. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 July 2010. Retrieved 17 February 2013.
  6. ^ a b Nicholas M. Nikazmerad (1980). "A Chronological Survey of the Iranian Revolution". Iranian Studies. 13 (1/4): 327–368. doi:10.1080/00210868008701575. JSTOR 4310346.
  7. ^ Mansoor Moaddel (1994). Class, Politics, and Ideology in the Iranian Revolution. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 160. ISBN 978-0-231-51607-5.
  8. ^ a b c "Jamshid Amouzegar, former Iranian prime minister, dies at 93". The Washington Post.

Sources

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Political offices
Preceded by Minister of Finance
1965–1974 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Kamal Hassani
 Minister of Interior
1974–1977 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Prime Minister of Iran
1977–1978 		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Secretary-General of the Resurgence Party
1976–1977
1978 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Succeeded by
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