Hasan Nazih

Hasan Nazih
Born 1921
Tabriz
Died September 2012 (aged 90–91)
Paris
Nationality Iranian
Alma mater University of Tehran
Occupation Lawyer
Years active 1950s - 2000s

Hasan Nazih (1921 - September 2012) was a leading Iranian civil rights lawyer, opposition leader and a former bureuacrat. He was one of the leaders at the initial phase of the Islamic regime in Iran.

Early life and education

Nazih was born in Tabriz in 1921.[1][2] However, there is another report giving his birth year as 1920.[3] He held a law degree, which he received from the University of Tehran in 1944.[1] Until 1953 he attended the University of Geneva for doctoral study in law, but he returned to Iran without completing his study.[3]

Political activities and career

After graduation Nazih served as a judge in Iran for four years before pursuing his graduate studies at the University of Geneva which he did not complete, and therefore, he returned to Iran in 1953.[3] He was one of the central council members of the National Resistance Movement and a supporter of then prime minister Mohammad Mosaddegh during the 1950s.[1][2] He joined the foundation of the Liberation Movement of Iran or Freedom Movement, which was led by Mahdi Bazargan, in 1961.[1] Nazih founded the Association of Iranian Jurists and served as its director from 1966 to 1978.[3] He was one of the lawyers of Seyyed Mahmoud Taleghani together with Ahmad Sayyed Javadi in 1977.[4] The same year Nazih significantly contributed to the formation of the first committee for the defense of human rights in Iran.[1]

He was also among the prominent figures who supported the 1979 revolution.[5] However, he did not support the Assembly of Experts that drafted Iran's new constitution.[1] On the other hand, he was appointed by then prime minister Mahdi Bazargan as head of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) on 17 February 1979.[6] Nazih was a critic of Ayatollah Khomenei[7] and stated on 28 May that the Ayatollah's remarks on labelling on those who opposed to the religious leadership enemies of the revolution were not acceptable.[8]

The members of the Revolutionary Council, Mohammad Beheshti and Mohammad Mofatteh, argued that since Nazih criticised Khomeini with this statement, he should be sacked.[9] In addition, Ayatollah Khomeini's son-in-law Shahabuddin Eshraqi initiated a campaign against him in July 1979.[10] They accused Nazih of being a CIA agent.[11] On 28 September 1979, Nazih was relieved from office by prime minister[8][12] and also, forced underground.[10] Nazih announced that he wanted to be tried by a panel, including Mahdi Bazargan and Khomeini.[10] Ali Akbar Moinfar, who would also become the first oil minister, succeeded Nazih as the head of the NIOC.[13][14] Later the case against Nazih was dropped by the prosecution.[10]

Exile

Nazih fled Iran and settled in France in autumn 1979,[1][15] and there he took refuge.[3] He also left the Freedom Movement in 1979.[2] In exile, he formed the Front for the National Sovereignty of Iran in 1983.[16] Later he headed the Council for the Preparation of a Transition Government in Iran, which had been formed in Germany in 1992.[3][17] The group launched a publication with the editorship of Nazih in Germany.[18]

Death

In his later years, Nazih suffered from Alzheimer and died in Paris in September 2012.[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Sahimi, Muhammad (18 September 2012). "Hassan Nazih, opponent of Shah and Khomeini, dies". PBS. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Houchang E. Chehabi (1990). Iranian Politics and Religious Modernism: The Liberation Movement of Iran Under the Shah and Khomeini. I.B.Tauris. p. 129. ISBN 978-1-85043-198-5. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Isfahani, Nazie (September 1995). "A Party in Exile: Is It a Realistic Hope?". Washington Report on Middle East Affairs XI (3): 67. Retrieved 5 September 2013.  – via Questia (subscription required)
  4. ↑ Sahimi, Muhammad (31 March 2012). "The Nationalist-Religious Movement Part 2: The Revolutionary Era". PBS. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  5. ↑ Ali Gheissari; Seyyed Vali Reza Nasr (15 June 2006). Democracy in Iran: History and the Quest for Liberty. Oxford University Press. p. 67. ISBN 978-0-19-804087-3. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  6. ↑ "Leftist foes warned by Khomeini". The Pittsburg Press. 17 February 1979. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  7. ↑ "Iran Unleashes Might on Kurds". The Pittsburgh Press (Tehran). UPI. 2 September 1979. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Nikazmerad, Nicholas M. (1980). "A Chronological Survey of the Iranian Revolution". Iranian Studies 13 (1/4): 327–368. doi:10.1080/00210868008701575. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  9. ↑ Rijvi, Sajid (4 June 1979). "Directors of Iran's oil company resign". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Michael M. J. Fischer (15 July 2003). Iran: From Religious Dispute to Revolution. Univ of Wisconsin Press. p. 222. ISBN 978-0-299-18473-5. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  11. ↑ Rouleau, Eric (1980). "Khomenei's Iran". Foreign Affairs 59 (1). Retrieved 5 August 2013.
  12. ↑ "Iran leader fires national oil firm head". St. Petersburg Times (London). AP. 29 September 1979. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
  13. ↑ Shaul Bakhash (1982). The Politics of Oil and Revolution in Iran: A Staff Paper. Brookings Institution Press. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-8157-1776-8. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  14. ↑ Dilip Hiro (1987). Iran Under the Ayatollahs. Routledge & Kegan Paul. p. 131. ISBN 978-0-7102-1123-1. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  15. ↑ "Bani Sadr criticizes Khomeini for Iran's problems". Spokane Daily Chronicle (Paris). AP. 30 July 1981. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  16. ↑ Ehteshami Anous (1995). After Khomeini: The Iranian Second Republic. Routledge, Chapman & Hall, Incorporated. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-415-10879-9. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  17. ↑ Millward, WM (November 1995). "Commentary No. 63: Containing Iran". CSIS. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  18. ↑ Sreberny-Mohammadi, Annabelle; Ali Mohammadi (January 1987). "Post-Revolutionary Iranian Exiles: A Study in Impotence". Third World Quarterly 9 (1): 108–129. doi:10.1080/01436598708419964.