Ahmad Qavam

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Ahmad Ghavam in royal court attire.

Ahmad Qavām (1876-1955), aslo known as Qavam os-Saltaneh, was a Prime Minister of Iran.

Born in 1876, he served in the royal court of Nasereddin Shah early in his career. He slowly climbed his way up, and obtained the title Ghavam al-Saltaneh during the Constitutional Revolution of Iran. Hasan Vothuq (also known as Vothuq al-Dowleh) was his older brother.

In 1920, during the coup d'etat of Tehran against the Qajar government, Tabatabaei ordered Colonel Pesian to arrest many of the opposition, among them Ahmad Ghavam. Ghavam was arrested and sent to Tehran.

However with the fall of Seyyed Zia'eddin Tabatabaee's government, Mostowfi al-Mamalek among others was offered the position of Prime Minister, which he and the rest declined, due to the unstable political situation at the time. Hence Ghavam who had just been released from the Ishratabad prison of Tehran was offered the position, which he accepted and became Prime Minister overnight. So unusual was his rise that Iraj Mirza wrote the following verses:

یکی را افکند امروز در بند
کند روز دیگر او را خداوند

"One day in prison he is thrown,
another day the King's chair he'll own"

Ghavam in fact ordered the arrest of Seyyed Zia'eddin Tabatabaee in an incident 25 years later. He also ordered the crackdown on the revolt of Colonel Pesian which he crushed with the aid of Reza Pahlavi

Of the major events that occurred during his terms as the prime minister, was his invitation to Arthur Millspaugh for assisting the government in its finances. Another was the riots of 1942 for economic hardship. he appointed Sepahbod Ahmad Amir-Ahmadi to restore order and end the riots, which he did forcefully. Ghavam was also instrumental in the 1919 treaty between Iran, Russia, and Britain.

He died at the age of 82 in 1955 in Tehran.

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[edit] References used

The following reference was used for the above writing: "Iran in the last 3 Centuries" by Alireza Avsati. Published Tehran, 2003. Vol1 ISBN 964-93406-6-1 Vol2 ISBN 964-93406-5-3

Preceded by Ebrahim Hakimi	Prime Minister of Iran 1946 January 27 – 1948	Succeeded by Ebrahim Hakimi
Preceded by Mohammad Mossadegh	Prime Minister of Iran 1952 July 16 – 1952 July 21	Succeeded by Mohammad Mossadegh