Biography
Early Years:
Born
to a Finance Minister Hedayat Ashtiani, who
served the Minister of King Naser al-Din
Qajar, Mossadegh was introduced to politics at an early
age. He was near royalty with a
mother who was
a granddaughter
of the Crown Prince Abbas Mirza.  After losing his father
when he was only 10, the young
Mossadegh became the government's
tax collection representative in Khorasan. Following
the Constitutional Revolution of 1906, Mossadegh
was
elected
from Esfahan to Parliament, a role he refused due to
his young age. In 1902 he married Zahra,
Princess Zia Saltaneh, a grand-daughter of Nasser-el
din Shah.
In 1909 he began his
at the
Political Science Institute in Paris. By 1913, he had
obtained his law degree from the Law School
of Neuchatel in Switzerland. Upon returning to Iran,
he found a job as a Professor at the
Political
Science
Institute
of Tehran.
During this time Mossadegh wrote
the "Civil
Legal Procedure," and the "Capitulation",
which were first of their kind for the Iranian legal
system. In 1917, the young lawyer became deputy Finance
minister and tried to battle corruption
inside the ministry.
Early
Politics:
In 1919,
the cabinet of Vosough al-Doleh signed an agreement
with
the British, which made
Iran a British colony. In turn, Vosugh
and his Finance Ministers received 131,000 British
Pounds. Mossadegh  protested and within a few months,
Vosough's cabinet collapsed.
Moshir
al-Doleh became
the next Prime
Minister and appointed Mossadegh to be the new
minister of Justice. On his way back from Europe, the
people
of Shiraz, overwhelmed and asked him to be the governor
of Fars. In 1921, a British-backed coup led by Seyed
Zia and Reza Khan occured. Mossadegh resigned. Within
100 days, Zia lost power and Ghavam al-Saltaneh became
the new Premier. This time Dr. Mossadegh became
the Finance minister with full authority. Shortly thereafter,
Ghavam's government fell. Moshir
reclaimed the position and appointed Mossadegh to the
role of Governor of Azarbaijan. There, he was not able
to gain full control over the army
commanders, who received orders from the War Minister
Reza Khan. Again,
Mossadegh resigned and went on to Tehran to become
the Foreign Minister of Moshir's cabinet. He vehemently
opposed the British
government's reques of 2 million Pounds
from Iran, for the creation of the Iranian southern police
to protec British interest.
Reza
Khan, who had been Commander of the Armed Forces, took
the role of Premier following
Moshir. Dr. Mossadegh was elected to the Parliament.
Reza Khan seized the opportunity to overthrow the
Qajar dynasty declared himself
the new King of Iran. Under Reza
Shah's rule, which
grew to be a military dictatorship, Mossadegh was forced
to stay under house arrest and exile. In 1941,
Reza Shah was led to abdicate by
the British
and Russians and sent into
exile to South Africa until his death.
Monumental Achievements:
The 14th Majlis (Parliament) of Tehran,
elected Dr. Mossadegh as the first representative
from the Capital. Mossadegh was not able to enter the
15th Majlis elections, due to interference
from the new Mohammad
Reza
Shah, and
Premier Ghavam. The two had arranged for this, so
the British could confirm the 1933 oil agreement. This
led them to plunder Iranian oil reserves for another
60 years. Mohammad
Reza Shah Pahlavi, protected by the
British, formed a Constituent Assembly, and extended
his powers
as a constitutional monarch. During this time, Dr. Mossadegh
formed
the
Jebhe-ye Melli (The National Front) of Iran. Despite
much interference from foreign agents, the Royal Court,
and the Shah, Mossadegh
and a group of his
companions were elected into the next Majlis. It was
this Parliament that approved the nationalization of
the Iranian
oil
industry,
by the leadership of Dr. Mossadegh.
Finally in 1951, Mossadegh
became Premier, and was able to enforce the Oil
Nationalization Bill. The British brought on a law suit
against Iran. At the United
Nations
Security Council in New York, Dr. Mossadegh
defended the rights
of Iran to its own oil. At the the Hague Court in the
Netherlands, Iran was voted
not guilty
for nationalizing its oil. Mossadegh
became an overnight world leader and hero. Political
differences ensued once again with the Shah, who viewed
Mossadegh as a threat to his rule and power. Mossadegh
resigned once again in 1952 and the people
revolted. After 4 days
of bloody revolt, the newly installed Ghavam
government and the shah's army was defeated. Mossadegh
once again became Prime Minister of Iran.
 A
vicious murder plot for Mossadegh and the killing of
General Afshar-Toos ensued. On August
16, 1953, with accordance to an American-British designed
plan, the Shah dismissed Mossadegh. When the troops
tried to deliver the news, Mossadegh's guards
arrested
the Royal Guard and a coup was
declared. Upon hearing this news, the immeditaely Shah
fled to Italy. On 17th and 18th of August 1953, people
filled the streets in support of Mossadegh and tore down
statues of
the Pahlavi Shahs. A day later, a united CIA and MI6
(British Secret Service) bribed a few of the
Ayatollahs, army officers, street thugs, and prostitutes
to organize large mobs against Mossadegh. The coup
reached Mossadegh's home and bloody battles followed.
Finally the fight moved inside the
house which was plundered and burned. Mossadegh
and his companions fled the fire using a ladder to reach
the neighbor's
house. On August 20th, Dr. Mossadegh
surrenderd to
General Zahedi and the Shah
returned to Iran. Mossadegh was arrested, tried and
given three-year sentence in prison. Following this,
the 74-year-old retreated to his quiet
country home Ahmad
Abad.
Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh spent his entire
adult life serving his people and country,
working every day for its sovereignty, and rights.
A slight and unassuming man, he suffered from many ailments
during his life and always had a doctor, later his own
son,
at hand. He favored rule of law and fought very
hard to establish a national Iran with a democratic parliament
and honest politicians. To this day, he is considered
to be perhaps the most influential and
important
figures in the history of the world.
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