Military government of Gholam-Reza Azhari

The Shah ordered Gholam Reza Azhari at 5 November 1978 to lead the military government at the time of growing protests in the country.[1] The selection of General Azhari was taken as an indirect signal to the revolutionaries that the regime had lost its resolve to resist and play it tough.[2] The cabinet was officially formed on 6 November.[3]

Military government of Gholam Reza Azhari

Military cabinet of Imperial State of Iran
Prime Minister
Date formed6 November 1978 (1978-11-06)
Date dissolved31 December 1978 (1978-12-31)
People and organisations
Head of stateMohammad Reza Pahlavi
Head of governmentGholam Reza Azhari
Deputy head of governmentAli Fardad
No. of ministers18
History
Legislature term24th Iranian Majlis
PredecessorGovernment of Jafar Sharif-Emami
SuccessorGovernment of Shapour Bakhtiar

Of the eleven cabinet ministers appointed by Azhari, only six were military, and even this number was whittled down in the following weeks. The military cabinet members, for the most part, had no experience in their respective areas of responsibility. In short, the hotly debated change to a military government was, in practice, more cosmetic than real.[1]

Among Azhari's first acts were the arrest and imprisonment of former Prime Minister Hoveida, the former head of SAVAK, the former head of the national police, the former mayor of Tehran and several more former ministers and high dignitaries. These wanton acts were again carried out in the hope of appeasing the revolutionaries.[2]

On the eve of 20 December, Prime Minister Gholam Reza Azhari suffered a massive heart attack. He tendered his resignation to the Shah on 31 December 1978.[4]

Cabinet

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Cabinet members were as follows:[5][6]

Portfolio Minister Took office Left office Party
Prime Minister6 November 197831 December 1978 Military
Minister of Agriculture22 November 197831 December 1978 Nonpartisan
Minister of Commerce22 November 197831 December 1978 Nonpartisan
Minister of Culture and Art
Kamal Habibollahi
(head of ministry)
11 November 197822 November 1978 Military
22 November 197831 December 1978 Nonpartisan
Minister of Culture and Higher Education(head of ministry)11 November 197822 November 1978 Military
22 November 197831 December 1978 Nonpartisan
Minister of Education(head of ministry)11 November 197822 November 1978 Military
22 November 197831 December 1978 Nonpartisan
Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance(head of ministry)6 November 197822 November 1978 Military
22 November 197831 December 1978 Nonpartisan
Minister of Energy22 November 197831 December 1978 Military
Minister of Foreign Affairs22 November 197831 December 1978 Nonpartisan
Minister of Health22 November 197831 December 1978 Nonpartisan
Minister of Housing(head of ministry)6 November 197822 November 1978 Military
22 November 197831 December 1978 Nonpartisan
Minister of Industries and Mines22 November 197831 December 1978 Nonpartisan
Minister of Information and Tourism22 November 197831 December 1978 Military
Minister of Interior22 November 197831 December 1978 Military
Minister of Justice22 November 197831 December 1978 Nonpartisan
Minister of Labor and Social Affairs(head of ministry)6 November 197822 November 1978 Military
22 November 197831 December 1978 Military
Minister of Post, Telegraph and Telephone22 November 197831 December 1978 Nonpartisan
Minister of Roads and Transportation22 November 197831 December 1978 Nonpartisan
Minister of War22 November 197831 December 1978 Military
Ministers without portfolio
Executive Affairs22 November 197831 December 1978 Nonpartisan
Parliamentary Affairs22 November 197831 December 1978 Nonpartisan
Political Affairs22 November 197831 December 1978 Nonpartisan
Endowment22 November 197831 December 1978 Nonpartisan
Plan and Budget22 November 197831 December 1978 Nonpartisan
Vice Prime Ministers
Deputy Prime Minister22 November 197831 December 1978 Nonpartisan
Director of the SAVAK6 November 197831 December 1978 Military
President of the Atomic Energy Organization6 November 197831 December 1978 Nonpartisan
President of the Department of Environment6 November 197831 December 1978 Nonpartisan
President of the Physical Education Organization6 November 197831 December 1978 Military
Secretary-General of the ARAO6 November 197831 December 1978 Nonpartisan
  1. ^ Acting from 8 to 22 November
  2. ^ Acting from 6 to 22 November
  3. ^ Acting from 6 to 22 November
* Acting

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Fardust, Hussein (1998). The Rise and Fall of the Pahlavi Dynasty: Memoirs of Former General Hussein Fardust. Translated by Dareini, Ali Akbar. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 392. ISBN 9788120816428.
  2. ^ a b Ganji, Manouchehr (2002). Defying the Iranian Revolution: From a Minister to the Shah to a Leader of Resistance. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 24–25. ISBN 9780275971878.
  3. ^ Misagh Parsa (1982). Social origins of the Iranian revolution (PhD thesis). University of Michigan. p. 127. ISBN 979-8-204-15323-3. ProQuest 303064421.
  4. ^ Phillips, Tomas B. (2012). Queer Sinister Things: The Hidden History of Iran. Lulu. p. 406. ISBN 9780557509294.
  5. ^ "Government of Azhari, from begging to end". Ebtekar (in Persian). 13 (3567). Tehran: 12. 6 November 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  6. ^ Zandi, Mohammad Ali (15 November 2014). "Gholam Reza Azhari" (in Persian). Baqir al-Ulum Research Institute. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
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Government of Iran
Preceded by Military Government of Azhari
1978
Succeeded by