The National Consultative Assembly of Iran, also called The Iranian Parliament or People's House, is the national legislative body of Iran. The Parliament has 290 representatives. There were 272 seats since the 18 February 2000 election. The election took place on 2 March 2012. The new parliament will be opened on 27 May 2012.[2]
History
The first national assembly
The first national assembly, the "Majlis", was formed in 1906, after the 1905-1906 revolution. The Majlis wrote a constitution for the Persian empire.[3]
The first Majlis had 156 delegates. Tehran had 60 of the 156 seats. Major provinces like Azerbaijan had 12 delegates. Smaller provinces like Gilan and Tavala had 6 delegates each.[4]
War
In 1941, Britain and Russia invaded Persia to put the Germans out. This happened during the 13th Majlis. Mohamed Reza Shah was the constitutional monarch from 1941–1953. From 1953 until the revolution of 1979, Shah was the absolute ruler. Elections for the 14th Majlis were in 1943. In 1950, a special assembly met to create a new upper house, or senate, with half of the members appointed by Shah. The assembly also gave Shah the power to dissolve the national assembly.[5] The 21st Majlis was elected in September 1963.[6]
The 1979 revolution
After the revolution, Iran changed the name of the parliament from the National Assembly to the Islamic Assembly.[7]
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