Mohammad Ali Foroughi

Zoka-ol-Molk (Persian: ذُکاءُالمُلک)
Mohammad-Ali Foroughi
محمدعلی فروغی
18th Prime Minister of Iran
In office
27 August 1941 – 9 March 1942
MonarchsReza Shah
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Preceded byAli Mansur
Succeeded byAli Soheili
In office
18 September 1933 – 3 December 1935
MonarchReza Shah
Preceded byMehdi Qoli Hedayat
Succeeded byMahmoud Jam
In office
1 November 1925 – 13 June 1926
Acting
MonarchReza Shah
Preceded byReza Shah
Succeeded byHassan Mostowfi
Minister of Finance
In office
1 September 1924 – 1 November 1925
Prime MinisterReza Shah
In office
15 June 1923 – 26 October 1923
Prime MinisterHassan Pirnia
In office
14 March 1915 – 1 May 1915
Prime MinisterHassan Pirnia
In office
24 May 1913 – 3 June 1913
Prime MinisterSaad ad-Daula
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
28 October 1923 – 1 September 1924
Prime MinisterReza Shah
In office
14 February 1923 – 15 June 1923
Prime MinisterHassan Mostowfi
Minister of Justice
In office
3 June 1913 – 6 December 1914
Prime MinisterSaad ad-Daula
Hassan Mostowfi
Speaker of the Parliament
In office
6 July 1912 – 10 July 1912
Preceded byMirza Esmaiel Khan
Succeeded byHossein Pirnia
Member of the Parliament of Iran
In office
19 November 1909 – 3 August 1921
ConstituencyTehran
Personal details
Bornearly August 1877[1][2][3]
Tehran, Sublime State of Persia
Died(1942-11-26)26 November 1942[2] or (1942-11-27)27 November 1942[4][5][6] (aged 65)
Tehran, Pahlavi Iran
Resting placeIbn Babawayh Cemetery
Political partyRevival Party
Children6
Alma materTehran School of Political Sciences
Dar ul-Funun
Autochrome portrait by Georges Chevalier, 1928

Mohammad Ali Foroughi (Persian: محمدعلی فروغی; early August 1877[1][2][3] – 26[2] or 27[4][5][6] November 1942), also known as Zoka-ol-Molk (Persian: ذُکاءُالمُلک), was an Iranian politician, writer, freemason,[7] Azali,[8] and diplomat who served as the Prime Minister of Iran for three terms. He wrote numerous books on ancient Iranian history and is known for founding the Academy of Iran.[9][10]

Early life and education

Foroughi was born in Tehran to a merchant family from Isfahan. His ancestor, Mirza Abutorab was the representative of Isfahan in Mugan plain during Nader Shah Afshar's coronation. His grandfather, Mohammad Mehdi Arbab Isfahani, was amongst the most influential merchants of Isfahan and was skilled in history and geography. His father Mohammad Hosein Foroughi was the translator of the Shah to Arabic and French. He was also a poet and published a newspaper called Tarbiat. Naser al-Din Shah Qajar nicknamed Mohammad Hosein, Foroughi, after hearing a poem that he had written.[11] During his early life, Foroughi studied at the élite Dar ul-Funun (Polytechnic school) in Tehran.

Career

In 1907, Foroughi's father died, and thus Foroughi inherited his father's title of Zoka-ol-Molk.[2] During the same year, Foroughi became the dean of Tehran School of Political Science. In 1909, he entered politics as a member of Majlis (Parliament), representing Tehran. He subsequently became speaker of the house and later minister in several cabinets as well as prime minister three times and once as the acting prime minister when Reza Khan resigned as prime minister to take up the crown as Reza Shah. In 1912, he became the president of the Iranian Supreme Court. Later he was appointed prime minister and dismissed in 1935 due to the father of his son-in-law's, Muhammad Vali Asadi, alleged participation in the riot in Mashhad against the reforms implemented by Reza Shah.[12]

However, later Foroughi regained his status and became Prime Minister during the initial phase of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's reign.[12] Foroughi as a prime minister was instrumental in having Mohammad Reza Pahlavi proclaimed as king after his father, Reza Shah, was forced to abdicate (16 September 1941) and exiled by the allied forces of the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union during World War II. After the collapse of his cabinet, he was named Minister of Court and then named ambassador of Iran to the United States of America, but he died in Tehran at the age of 67 before he could assume the post.

Contribution

Foroughi with Ali Mansur, Mostafa Gholibayat, Aliakbar Davar and Mahmoud Jam.

The most important contribution of Foroughi to philosophy is his triplet, "The Evolution of Philosophy in Europe", in which he covered the works of European Philosophers, starting from the Seven Sages of Greece in the 7th century BC through to Henri Bergson, in the 20th century.

Books

Foroughi at the court of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

Foroughi wrote numerous books, including The History of Iran, The History of the Ancient Peoples of The East, A Short History of Ancient Rome, Constitutional Etiquette, A Concise Course in Physics, Far-fetched Thoughts, The Philosophy of Socrates, The Evolution of Philosophy in Europe, My Message to the Academy of Language (Farhangestan), The Rules of Oratory or The Technique of Speech Making, and a book on the Shahnameh (The Book of Kings).[clarification needed]

Grave of Mohammad Ali Foroughi in Ibn Babawayh Cemetery

In addition to this, Froughi prepared scholarly editions of the works of Saadi, Hafez, Rumi, Omar Khayyam and Ferdowsi. The best-known of Foroughi's critical editions is Saadi's Kolliyat. His son Mohsen Foroughi was a renowned architect who completed his studies in France and designed Niavarān Palace Complex, which is situated in the northern part of Tehran, Iran. It consists of several buildings and a museum. The Sahebqraniyeh Palace of the time of Nasir al-Din Shah of Qajar dynasty is also inside this complex. The main Niavaran Palace, completed in 1968, was the primary residence of the last Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and the Imperial family until the Iranian Revolution. Franz Malekebrahimian worked directly under Mohsen Foruoghi in implementation and maintenance of the Palace.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Zoka-ol-Molk, Mohammad Ali (2009), Maghalat-e Foroughi مقالات فروغی (in Persian), vol. 1, Tehran: Tous, p. هشت, ISBN 978-964-315-091-4, در اوایل دههٔ سوم جمادی الآخره ۱۲۹۴ قمری (۱۲۵۶ شمسی و ۱۸۷۷ میلادی) متولد شده‌ام
  2. ^ a b c d e Afshar, Iraj; Azimi, Fakhreddin (31 January 2012). "FORŪGĪ, MOḤAMMAD-ʿALĪ ḎOKĀʾ-AL-MOLK". Encyclopædia Iranica. Vol. X, Fasc. 1. pp. 108–112. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  3. ^ a b Mosaheb, Gholamhossein, ed. (2008). "Forughi, Mohammad Ali" فروغی، محمدعلی. The Persian Encyclopedia (in Persian). Vol. 2, Part 1. p. 1887. ISBN 978-964-303-046-9. جمادی الثانی ۱۲۹۴ ﻫق {{cite encyclopedia}}: |script-work= ignored (help)
  4. ^ a b Zoka-ol-Molk, Mohammad Ali (2009), Maghalat-e Foroughi مقالات فروغی (in Persian), vol. 1, Tehran: Tous, p. هجده, ISBN 978-964-315-091-4, وفات فروغی که در شب جمعهٔ ششم آذرماه ۱۳۲۱ اتفاق افتاد
  5. ^ a b Hekmat, Ali-Asghar (1976), Si Khatere az Asr-e Farkhonde-ye Pahlavi سی خاطره از عصر فرخندهٔ پهلوی, Pars, p. 15, retrieved 27 November 2019, بتاریخ‌جمعهٔ ششم‌آذر۱۳۲۱ ساعت ده‌ بعدازظهر دوست دانشمند و بزرگوار، بلکه رئیس عالی‌مقام و استاد ارجمندم، محمدعلی فروغی (ذُکاءُالمُلک دوم) دراثر بیماری ممتد قلبی جهان را بدرود گفت
  6. ^ a b Ettehad, Houshang (2000), Pazhuheshgaran-e Moaser-e Iran پژوهشگران معاصر ایران [Contemporary Scholars of Iran] (in Persian), vol. 1, Tehran: Farhang Moaser, p. 79, ISBN 964-5545-43-9, جمعه، ۶ آذر سال ۱۳۲۱ ش، ساعت ده بعداز ظهر، محمدعلی فروغی، ذُکاءُالمُلک دوم، در اثر بیماری ممتد قلبی، جهان را بدرود گفت
  7. ^ "خبرگزاری فارس - "محمد علي فروغي"ناجي سلسله پهلوي و چراغدار لژ فراماسونري". خبرگزاری فارس. 24 January 2009. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  8. ^ Turaj Amini, Gofteman Iran, No. 164, December 2, 2008. [1].
  9. ^ "با "محمدعلی فروغی" بیشتر آشنا شوید". ایسنا (in Persian). 28 August 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  10. ^ "مرگ محمدعلی فروغی سیاستمدار و نخست وزیر رژیم پهلوی". ساعت و تقویم روز ایران (in Persian). Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  11. ^ Bagher Agheli, A biography of political and military figures in contemporary Iran, Elm publishing, Tehran, 2001.
  12. ^ a b Gholam Reza Afkhami (27 October 2008). The Life and Times of the Shah. University of California Press. p. 35. ISBN 978-0-520-25328-5. Retrieved 4 November 2012.

Sources

  • 'Alí Rizā Awsatí (عليرضا اوسطى), Iran in the past three centuries (Irān dar Se Qarn-e Goz̲ashtehايران در سه قرن گذشته), Volumes 1 and 2 (Paktāb Publishing – انتشارات پاکتاب, Tehran, Iran, 2003). ISBN 964-93406-6-1 (Vol. 1), ISBN 964-93406-5-3 (Vol. 2).
  • A short motion picture of Mohammad-Ali Foroughi, from the film archives of Anoshirvan Sepahbodi, Geneva, 1931: YouTube.
Political offices
Preceded by Prime Minister of Iran
1925–1926
Succeeded by
Preceded by Prime Minister of Iran
1933–1935
Succeeded by
Preceded by Prime Minister of Iran
1941–1942
Succeeded by