Reza Azimi

Timsar

Reza Azimi
DiedFrance
AllegianceImperial State of Iran
Service / branchGround Force
Years of service1928 – 1979
RankArmy General

Reza Azimi (Persian: رضا عظیمی) was a senior military officer during the reign of the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. He was a general and held various military and government posts, including commander of the Imperial Iranian Ground Forces and minister of war.

Biography

Azimi served as the commander of the Imperial Iranian Ground Forces between 1960 and 1966.[1][2] He left the office due to illness.[2] Then he was made general adjutant to the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi which he held until 1970.[1]

Later Azimi served as the minister of war between 1971 and 1977 in the cabinet led by Prime Minister Amir Abbas Hoveyda.[1][3] He was appointed to the post on 13 September 1971.[4] Azimi was among the nine members of the cabinet who were not Hoveyda's appointees or proteges.[3] His deputy at the ministry was also a retired army officer, Hassan Toufanian.[5] During his tenure Azimi dealt with legislative and budgetary issues, whereas his deputy, Toufanian, was responsible for the procurement of arms in accordance with the Shah's orders.[5]

Azimi retained his post in the succeeding cabinet led by Prime Minister Jamshid Amouzegar between August 1977 and August 1978.[6] Azimi continued to serve in the same post in the cabinet led by Prime Minister Jafar Sharif-Emami.[7][8] He was also appointed minister of war to the military government which was formed by Gholam Reza Azhari in November 1978 and lasted until the end of December.[9]

As of 1990 Azimi was residing in Paris, France.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "General Reza Azimi". Foundation for Iranian Studies. Archived from the original on 15 March 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  2. ^ a b Hooshmand Mirfakhraei (1984). The Imperial Iranian armed forces and the revolution of 1978-1979 (PhD thesis). University at Buffalo. p. 254. OCLC 12037858. ProQuest 303350420.
  3. ^ a b Khosrow Fatemi (Winter 1982). "Leadership by Distrust: The Shah's Modus Operandi". The Middle East Journal. 36 (1): 56. JSTOR 4326355.
  4. ^ "Chronology August 16, 1971-November 15, 1971". The Middle East Journal. 26 (1): 43. 1972. JSTOR 4324874.
  5. ^ a b Iran, a Country Study. Washington DC: Department of Defense. 1978. p. 401.
  6. ^ "Chronology May 16, 1977-August 15, 1977". The Middle East Journal. 31 (4): 474. 1977. JSTOR 4325678.
  7. ^ William Branigin (28 August 1978). "New Cabinet Named in Iran Shakeup". Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  8. ^ "Chronology August 6, 1978-November 15, 1978". The Middle East Journal. 33 (1): 49. Winter 1979. JSTOR 4325819.
  9. ^ Sepehr Zabir (2012). The Iranian Military in Revolution and War (RLE Iran D). London; New York: Routledge. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-136-81270-5.
Military offices
Preceded by Commander of the Imperial Iranian Ground Force
1960–1966 		Succeeded by