Hassan Akhavi

Hassan Akhavi (1908–17 April 1997) was an Iranian military officer who played an active role in the overthrown of Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh in 1953. He briefly served as the minister of agriculture in the period 1957–1959 and retired from military offices and politics. Following the regime change in Iran in 1979 he settled in the United States.

Hassan Akhavi
Minister of Agriculture
In office
4 April 1957 – 1959
MonarchMohammad Reza Pahlavi
Prime MinisterManouchehr Eghbal
Succeeded byJamshid Amouzegar
Personal details
Born
Mohammad Hassan Akhavi

1908
Tehran, Qajar Iran
Died17 April 1997(1997-00-00) (aged 88–89)
Orange County, California, U.S.A.
Alma materIranian Military Academy
Military career
AllegianceIran
Service/branchImperial Iranian Army
Years of service1930–1958
RankMajor general

Biography

Akhavi was born in Tehran in 1908.[1][2] Following his graduation from the officer's college he joined the Imperial Iranian Army.[1] He held various military posts, including chief of staff in Khuzestan.[1] In the 1940s he was a member of the Aria Party led by Hasan Arfa.[1] In fact, Akhavi was the leader of its military wing.[3]

Hossein Fardoust in his memoirs published in 1978 argued that Akhavi was one of the major liaisons between the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and army officers who were planning a coup against the government of Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh in 1953.[4] During this period Akhavi's military rank was colonel, and he was heading the military intelligence unit of the army.[4][5] He was part of the pro-British group among the coup planning army officers.[5] The major members of Akhavi's group were the following: General Hassan Arfa, Brigadier General Teymur Bakhtiar and Colonel Hedayatollah Gilanshah.[5] On 15 August 1953 Akhavi was among the coup supporters who were arrested by the forces loyal to Mosaddegh.[5]

After the success of the coup Akhavi was promoted to the rank of brigadier general and became the deputy chief of staff of the army.[1] In this post he served as one of the deputies of Nader Batmanghelidj, army's chief of staff.[6]

Then Akhavi served as a military attaché in Turkey, Greece and Yugoslavia for a short term.[1] In 1956 he returned to Iran and became the head of the Forestry Organization and the commander of the Forest Guard.[1] Akhavi was appointed minister of agriculture in the cabinet led by Prime Minister Manouchehr Eghbal on 4 April 1957.[2][7] He was also promoted to the rank of major general the same year.[1] Akhavi was removed from the office due to his opposition to the land reform plan in 1959.[1][8] Jamshid Amouzegar replaced him as minister of agriculture.[8]

After his removal Akhavi retired from both politics and army.[2][8] He left Iran for the United States after the end of the Pahlavi rule in 1979.[1] He died of natural causes in Orange County, California, on 17 April 1997.[9]

References
  1. Asia Al Ahmad. "Major General Mohammad Hassan Akhavi" (in Persian). Vista. Retrieved 24 April 2022. Citing Institute for the Study of Contemporary Iranian History as the source
  2. Ali Rahnema (2014). Behind the 1953 Coup in Iran. Thugs, Turncoats, Soldiers, and Spooks. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 298. doi:10.1017/CBO9781139875974. ISBN 9781139875974.
  3. Hussein Fardust (1998). The Rise and Fall of the Pahlavi Dynasty: Memoirs of Former General Hussein Fardust. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. p. 62. ISBN 978-81-208-1642-8. English version of the book translated by Ali Akbar Dareini
  4. "The 1953 Coup in Iran: an Iranian insider's view". Cryptome. Retrieved 24 April 2022. Extracts from the memoirs of the late General Fardust
  5. Ervand Abrahamian (Summer 2001). "The 1953 Coup in Iran". Science and Society. 65 (2): 198, 207. JSTOR 40403895.
  6. "Information Report". Office of the Historian. 14 September 1953. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  7. "Developments of the Quarter: Comment and Chronology". Middle East Journal. 11 (3): 282–308. Summer 1957. JSTOR 4322924.
  8. Siavush Randjbar-Daemi (July 2020). "The Tudeh Party of Iran and the peasant question, 1941–53". Middle Eastern Studies. 56 (6): 3–4. doi:10.1080/00263206.2020.1781627. hdl:10023/24619. S2CID 225591030.
  9. "Obituaries". Orange County Register. 1 May 1997. ProQuest 272907478. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
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