Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh محمد مصدق was a lawyer, professor, author, Governor, Parliament member, Finance Minister, Defense Minister, and democratically elected Prime Minister of Iran.

Mossadegh fought both internal corruption and British colonialism, enacted social reforms and nationalized the Iranian oil industry. In 1953, he was overthrown by a British-American coup, arrested and tried as a traitor in military tribunal court. It was the CIA’s first successful dismantling of a foreign government, and Iran has not known democracy since.  

“There is no better way to govern Iran than democracy and social justice!” – Mohammad Mossadegh

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Who was he: Mohammad Mosaddegh, also known as Mohammad Mossadeq, was the democratically elected Prime Minister of Iran from 1951 to 1953. Mosaddegh was from an aristocratic background, but was also an author, politician, prominent parliamentarian, lawyer and administrator. Mossadegh spent his time as prime minister carrying out vast progressive social reforms, introducing unemployment compensation, ordering factory owners to pay benefits to sick and injured workers and freeing the lower strata from forced labor on landlords’ estates.

Of the money that was collected in rent by the landlords, 20% of it was placed in a fund set aside for the development of projects such as rural housing, pest control and public baths. Mosaddegh nationalized the Iranian oil industry, taking it out of the hands of the British government and because of this, was deposed by a coup carried out by the CIA on behalf of the British MI6.

Background: Mohammad Mosaddegh was born on June 16th, 1882 in Tehran. Mosaddegh received his Bachelor of Arts and Masters of International Law from the University of Paris. He pursued his Doctorate of Law at University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland. He taught at the University of Tehran at the start of World War II before he went on to pursue a career in politics. This career began with the Iranian Constitutional Revolution.

Mosaddegh was elected to the Persian Parliament, the Majlis of Iran. In 1919, he exiled himself to Switzerland in protest of the Anglo-Persian Treaty. In 1920, Mosaddegh was invited back by the Prime Minister, Hassan Pirnia, to become his Minister of Justice. En route to Tehran, Mohammad was asked to become the governor of the Fars Province. Mosaddegh was appointed the Finance Minister in the Ahmad Qavam government in 1921 and Foreign Minister in the Moshir-ed-Dowleh government in 1923.

In 1923, Mosaddegh was re-elected to The National Assembly of Iran, known as the Majlis. In 1925, the Reza Khan supporters in the Majlis proposed legislation to dissolve the Qajar dynasty and appoint Reza Khan the new Shah. Mosaddegh vetoed Reza Khan’s decision to crown himself Reza Shah Pahlavi on the grounds that it was a violation of the 1906 Iranian Constitution. Mosaddegh praised Reza Khan as a great statesman and encouraged him to renounce the title of Shah and take the title Prime Minister but in 1925, when the Qajar dynasty was overthrown, Reza took the title Shah and was the new monarch of the Imperial State of Persia.

Mosaddegh was elected to parliament again in 1944, but this time he took the lead of the National Front of Iran, an organization he had founded with the help of 19 others. This group was created to help establish a democratic government and to end foreign interference in Iranian politics, especially by the British controlled oil company. On April 28th, 1952, Mosaddegh was elected Prime Minister by a vote of 79 – 12. Iran’s Shah was aware of Mosaddegh’s rising popularity and power so he appointed Mosaddegh to the Premiership.

On May 1st, Mosaddegh nationalized the oil company, cancelled the oil concession that was due to end in 1993, and confiscated its assets. The nationalization of Iran’s oil resulted in Britain boycotting Iranian oil. Britain pulled out their employees, which left Iran with a virtually frozen oil industry. This put a strain on Mosaddegh’s economy and halted his domestic projects. Conservative parliamentarians refused Mosaddegh the special powers needed to deal with the crisis and tensions in the Majlis rose.

In July 1952, during the royal approval of Mosaddegh’s new cabinet, he requested a War Minister and Chief of Staff, which he was denied. Mosaddegh resigned and was replaced by a man willing to negotiate with the British. This sparked protests on the streets by Mosaddegh supporters. The military retreated in fear of straining their enlisted men’s loyalty.

Mosaddegh was reappointed and given control of the military. Mosaddegh curtailed the Shah and weakened the landlords by giving the peasants a greater share in production. However, the Iranians were getting poorer because of the British boycott and Mosaddegh’s popularity started to wane. Mohammad Mosaddegh was deposed August 1953 and died March 5th, 1967 under lifelong house arrest.

Source : http://thedailybell.com