Mostowfi ol-Mamalek

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Mostowfi ol-Mamalek : biography

5 October 1875 – 28 August 1932

The Fourth Term

Mostowfi’s fourth term of office as Prime Minister was marked by severe drought and famine that devastated the country. By some accounts 25% of those living in the North perished. This was accompanied by the Persian influenza epidemic of 1918 which was rapid and devastating.George C. Kohn, Encyclopedia of Plague and Pestilence (Infobase Publishing, 2007: ISBN 1438129238, 9781438129235), p. 299.

The Fifth Term

Mostowfi’s fifth term began in January 1923. The First World War was over and the Russian Revolution was well established. Reza Khan who was then called Sardar Sepah had the post of Minister of War in Mostowfi’s cabinet.

One of his most formidable opponents in politics at the time was Hassan Modarres who made numerous efforts to pull down Mostowfi’s cabinet.

Mostowfi’s cabinet finally collapsed under pressure from political opponents despite the full backing of Ahmad Shah Qajar. During the run-up to the elections for the 5th Majlis, Modarres and his followers in the Parliament were actively campaigning against Mostowfi’s cabinet. They tabled a formal question to the government, which was customarily followed by a vote of confidence. The ministers answered the questions convincingly. Mostowfi, who was not used to this kind of street politics, was said to be angry and disappointed. He delivered his most famous speech to Parliament, blaming members of Parliament for “giving and taking ajil (dried nuts), which in Persian means giving and taking bribes. He is believed to have said, “I have problems with my digestive system, and I do not take or give any ajil”.

He was the first Prime Minister to call Parliamentarians corrupt instead of cajoling and flattering them. He and his ministers left the Parliament, went straight to the Shah and resigned.

Hassan Modarres went on to abolish the 1919 accord between Iran and the Great Britain.

The Sixth Term

Despite his opposition to Mostowfi, Modarres was part of the party that encouraged Mostowfi to take his sixth term as Prime Minister. Reza Shah had been elected Shah and crowned. In order to legitimize his rule he needed a Prime Minister who had the confidence of the politicians and the general public, so he chose Mostowfi. Modarres believed that Mostowfi was one of the few people who might curb the excesses of the new Shah and his generals.

Mostowfi’s sixth began in June 1926. During this term of office a number of important actions were taken, the most important event during this period had been the abolition of Capitulation on May 9, 1927. This would be the last major event that Mostowfi would be part of and this would be his last post. At the end of May 1927, Mostowfi resigned from office and from political life.

Early life

Mostowfi al-Mamalek came from an important aristocratic and well-known family of high-ranking bureaucrats during the Qajar era, originally from the province of Ashtian. The family are said to have their origins with the Safavids.Ervand Abrahamian, “A History of Modern Iran” (Cambridge University Press, 2008: ISBN 0521821398, 9780521821391), p. 10. Mostowfi’s father was Mirza Yousof Mostowfi al-Mamalek, a bureaucrat of the Qajar court, Nasseraddin Shah’s grand vizier and a Prime Minister. His father was also assigned to determine the new reaches of Tehran city when the population reached 150000. His grandfather was Mirza Hasan Mostowfi al-Mamalek I and was given the title of Mostofi al Mamalek under Mohammad Shah Qajar.Mehdi Bamdad, DICTIONARY OF THE NATIONAL BIOGRAPHY OF IRAN TWELFTH, THIRTEENTH AND FOURTEENTH CENTURIES, Vol.1, pp.318-312. Mostowfi was also second cousins with Mohammad Mossadegh.Mohammad Mossadegh, “Musaddiq’s Memoirs” (Jebhe, 1988: ISBN 1870740009, 9781870740005)

One year before his father’s death, Nasereddin Shah granted the title Mostowfi ol-Mamalek ("chief financier of the country") to the very young, Hasan.ʻAbd Allāh Mustawfī, IThe administrative and social history of the Qajar period: the story of my life (Mazda Publishers, 1997: ISBN 1568590415, 9781568590417), p. 124. The Mostowfi ol-Mamalek family passed on the central office at the finance ministry from father to son throughout the 19th century and until the 1920s.