Iranian politician (1928–2018)
Ali Akbar Moinfar (Persian: علیاکبر معینفر; 14 January 1928 – 2 January 2018) was an Iranian politician and the first oil minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, serving briefly from 1979 to 1980. He later served as a member of the Parliament of Iran from 1980 to 1984, representing Tehran, Rey and Shemiranat.
Early life and education
Moinfar was born in Tehran on 14 January 1928.[1] He graduated from the University of Tehran with a degree in structural engineering in 1951. He furthered his studies in seismic engineering under Professor Seiji Naito in Waseda University, Japan.[2][3][4] He was a founding member of the Islamic Association of Engineers.[5]
Career
Moinfar worked at the plan and budget organization during the reign of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.[6] He had connections with the Freedom of Iran movement, which was led by Mehdi Bazargan.[6] However, this link was not formal, and he never attached himself to the movement.[7]
Following the 1979 revolution, Moinfar became one of the members of the Revolutionary Council.[3][8][9] He also acted as the spokesman of the council.[10] He was named minister of budget and planning to the interim government headed by Mehdi Bazargan.[11]
In September 1979, Moinfar was appointed oil minister in a cabinet reshuffle, becoming the first oil minister of Iran,[2][12] when the office was established.[6][13] He was also appointed chairman and managing director of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), replacing Hasan Nazih in the post.[6][14]
Moinfar continued to serve as oil minister after the resignation of the interim government of Bazargan in November 1979. He also won a parliamentary seat in the 1980 general elections.[7] However, he was harshly criticized by the fundamentalists for removing 'only committed Muslims' rather than leftists from the ministry.[15] In the Majlis Moinfar was one of the supporters of Abolhassan Banisadr together with Mehdi Bazargan, Ebrahim Yazdi, Yadollah Sahabi and Ahmad Sadre.[16] Due to his support he also experienced attacks at the Majlis.[16] Moinfar's tenure as oil minister lasted until September 1980 when Mohammad Ali Rajai formed the cabinet.[17] Ashgar Ibrahimi was nominated to succeed Moinfar as oil minister.[17] However, Ibrahimi did not get necessary vote at the Majlis, and Mohammad Javad Tondguyan became the oil minister.[18]
Moinfar served as a parliament member until 1984. He was beaten by nearly ten conservative members of the parliament in 1983.[19] He ran for office in the elections in 1996, but his candidacy was rejected by the Guardian Council.[20]
Later years and death
Moinfar never left Iran except to visit his children who lived overseas.[21] He was an honorary member of the European Association for Earthquake Engineering.[22]
Moinfar died on 2 January 2018 in Tehran, 12 days before his 90th birthday.[1][23]
References
External links