Mansour Rouhani

Mansour Rouhani
Minister of Water and Power
In office
7 March 1964 – ?
Prime Minister
Minister of Agriculture
In office
? – 27 August 1978
Prime MinisterAmir Abbas Hoveyda
Personal details
Born1922
Died11 April 1979(1979-04-11) (aged 56–57)
SpouseParvin Rouhani

Mansour Rouhani (1922–11 April 1979) was an Iranian politician who held several government posts during the reign of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.[1] He was one of the politicians who were murdered after the Islamic revolution in 1979.

Biography

Rouhani's father followed the Baháʼí Faith whereas his mother was a Muslim.[2][3]

On 7 March 1964 Rouhani was named as the minister of water and power in the cabinet led by Prime Minister Hasan Ali Mansour.[4] Rouhani served in the same post in the first cabinet of Prime Minister Amir-Abbas Hoveyda from 26 January 1965.[5] He also served as the minister of agriculture in the next cabinet of Amir Abbas Hoveyda.[6][7] He was reappointed to the post on 13 September 1971.[6]

Rouhani and many other leading figures close to the Shah were removed from the office in Fall 1978 shortly after the riots and protests occurred in rural parts of Iran.[8] On 13 September 1978 Rouhani was arrested.[9]

He was in prison when a regime change took place in Iran in February 1979. He was tried by the newly established Islamic Revolutionary Court led by religious judge Sadegh Khalkhali.[10] Rouhani was charged with treason and corruption on earth and sentenced to death.[10] Rasoul Sadr Ameli, an Iranian journalist worked for Ettela'at, reported that when Rouhani learned these claims, he asked the judge how he engaged in war with God.[11] Khalkhali answered him: "You are a Baháʼí."[11] Rouhani was also accused of having destroyed agriculture during his terms as minister of agriculture and minister of water and power.[12]

Rouhani was 57 years old when he was killed by the revolutionaries on 11 April 1979.[10] The same day ten other senior figures, including former foreign minister Abbas Ali Khalatbari, were also executed.[13][14]

Personal life

His wife was Parvin Rouhani who left Iran before or after the Islamic revolution in 1979 and settled in the United States.[15] The family properties were confiscated by the Islamic government during that period.[16]

Rouhani's son married an American woman, and they both left Iran in 1978.[16]

References

  1. ^ "Iran Announces Suit Against French Firm". The New York Times. 18 July 1977. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  2. ^ "To National Spiritual Assemblies". Bahai.org. 17 October 1979. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  3. ^ Mina Yazdani (Spring 2017). "Towards a History of Iran's Baha'i Community During the Reign of Mohammad Reza Shah, 1941-1979". Iran Namag. 2 (1): 85.
  4. ^ "Chronology December 16, 1963 - March 15, 1964". The Middle East Journal. 18 (2): 218. 1964. JSTOR 4323704.
  5. ^ S. H. Steinberg, ed. (2016). The Statesman's Year-Book 1966-67. London: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 1136. ISBN 978-0-230-27095-4.
  6. ^ a b "Chronology August 16, 1971-November 15, 1971". The Middle East Journal. 26 (1): 43. 1972. JSTOR 4324874.
  7. ^ Kaveh Ehsani (2006). "Rural Society and Agricultural Development in Post-Revolution Iran: The First Two Decades". Critique: Critical Middle Eastern Studies. 15 (1): 85. doi:10.1080/10669920500515143. S2CID 145536026.
  8. ^ James A. Bill (Winter 1978–1979). "Iran and the Crisis of '78". Foreign Affairs. 57 (2): 326. doi:10.2307/20040117. JSTOR 20040117.
  9. ^ "Chronology August 6, 1978-November 15, 1978". The Middle East Journal. 33 (1): 49. Winter 1979. JSTOR 4325819.
  10. ^ a b c "One Person's Story. Mansur Ruhani". Abdorrahman Boroumand Center. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  11. ^ a b Niloufar Rostami (18 May 2021). "Corpses on the Snow: Journalist Remembers Khomeini's Blessing for 1979 Execution". Iranware. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  12. ^ "Total put to death stands at 101 11 Shah officials executed in Tehran". The Globe and Mail. Tehran. Reuters. 12 April 1979. ProQuest 386986693. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  13. ^ "Teheran executes 11 top ex-officials". The New York Times. Tehran. 11 April 1979. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  14. ^ "Chronology February 16, 1979 – May 15, 1979". The Middle East Journal. 33 (3): 356. Summer 1979. JSTOR 4325879.
  15. ^ "Interview with Rohani, Parvin: Tape 01". Harvard Library.
  16. ^ a b M. E. MacGlashan, ed. (2016). Iran-US Claims Tribunal Reports. Vol. 22. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 201. ISBN 978-0-521-46456-7.