View source for Ali Amini

{{short description|Iranian politician (1905–1992)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Ali Amini
| native_name         = {{No bold|{{Script/Nastaliq|علی امینی}}}}
| native_name_lang    = fa
| image               = Ali Amini Portrait (cropped).jpg
| birth_date          = 12 September 1905
| birth_place         = [[Tehran]], [[Qajar Iran|Iran]]
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1992|12|12|1905|12|12|df=y}}
| death_place         = [[Paris]], [[France]]
| order               = 34th
| office              = Prime Minister of Iran
| term_start          = 5 May 1961
| term_end            = 19 July 1962
| monarch             = [[Mohammad Reza Shah]]
| predecessor         = [[Jafar Sharif-Emami]]
| successor           = [[Asadollah Alam]]
| order1              = [[List of ambassadors of Iran to the United States|Ambassador of Iran to the United States]]
| term_start1         = 24 January 1956
| term_end1           = 22 May 1958
| monarch1            = [[Mohammad Reza Shah]]
| predecessor1        = [[Nasrollah Entezam]]
| successor1          = [[Ali Gholi Ardalan]]
| order2              = [[Ministry of Justice (Iran)|Minister of Justice]]
| term_start2         = 7 April 1955
| term_end2           = 24 January 1956
| primeminister2      = [[Hossein Ala]]
| order3              = [[Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance (Iran)|Minister of Finance]]
| term_start3         = 19 August 1953
| term_end3           = 6 April 1955
| primeminister3      = [[Fazlollah Zahedi]]
| predecessor3        = Nezam-ed-din Emami
| successor3          = Nasrollah Jahangir
| order4              = [[Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance (Iran)|Minister of Economy]]
| term_start4         = 5 August 1951
| term_end4           = 16 July 1952
| primeminister4      = [[Mohammad Mosaddegh]]
| predecessor4        = Shamseddin Amir-Alaei
| successor4          = Bagher Kazemi
| term_start5         = 23 March 1950
| term_end5           = 26 June 1950
| primeminister5      = [[Ali Mansur]]
| office6             = [[Parliament of Iran|Member of the National Consultative Assembly]]
| term_start6         = 12 June 1947
| term_end6           = 28 July 1949
| constituency6       = [[Tehran, Rey, Shemiranat and Eslamshahr (electoral district)|Tehran]]
| party               = {{plainlist|
*[[Saviour Front]] {{small|(1982–1986)}}
*[[Democratic Party (Iran)|Democrat Party]] {{small|(1946–1948)}}}}
| alma_mater          = [[University of Grenoble]]<br>[[University of Paris]]
| spouse              = {{marriage|Batoul Voosough|1932|1992|end=d.}}
| children            = 1
| mother              = [[Fakhr-ol-dowleh]]
| relatives           = [[Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar]] (grandfather)<br>[[Vossug ed Dowleh]] (father-in-law)
}}
 
'''Ali Amini''' ({{langx|fa|علی امینی}}; 12 September 1905&ndash;12 December 1992) was an [[Iranian peoples|Iranian]] politician who was the [[Prime Minister of Iran]] from 1961 to 1962. He held several cabinet portfolios during the 1950s, and served as a member of parliament between 1947 and 1949.

Amini was widely regarded as "a ''protégé'' of the United States"<ref>{{cite book|editor-first1=P.|editor-last1=Avery|editor-first2=William|editor-last2=Bayne Fisher|editor-first3=G. R. G.|editor-last3=Hambly|editor-first4=C.|editor-last4=Melville|year=1990|title=The Cambridge History of Iran|volume=7|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521200950|page=275}}</ref> and a "pro-American liberal reformer".<ref>{{cite book|author=Parvin Paydar| title=Women and the Political Process in Twentieth-Century Iran|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=139|year=1995|isbn=978-0-521-59572-8}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
Amini was born on 12 September 1905 in Tehran.<ref name="M"/> He was a grandson of [[Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar]] through his mother, [[Fakhr-ol-Dowleh]].<ref name=jab>{{cite book|author=James A. Bill|title=The Eagle and the Lion. The Tragedy of American-Iranian Relations|date=1988|publisher=Yale University Press|location=New Haven and London|isbn=978-0-300-04412-6|url=https://doi.org/10.12987/9780300159516-006|pages=107–108|doi=10.12987/9780300159516-006 |s2cid=246116954 }}</ref> His father was a significant statesman during the [[Qajar Iran|Qajar era]], Mohsen Amin-ol-dowleh.<ref name=jab/>

He completed his studies first in [[Dar ul-Funun (Persia)|Dar ol-fonoon]] and then in [[France]] where he graduated with a degree in law from [[Grenoble University]],<ref name=rubin80/> followed by his PhD in economics from [[Paris]]. His PhD thesis was concerned with the foreign trade monopoly in Iran.<ref name=ehsanee>{{cite thesis|author=Ehsanee Ian Sadr|title=To whisper in the king's ear: Economists in Pahlavi and Islamic Iran
|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1432765052|location=University of Maryland, College Park|page=36|degree=PhD
|date=2013|id={{ProQuest|1432765052}}}}</ref>

Upon his return to Iran, he was employed at the [[Ministry of Justice (Iran)|Ministry of Justice]] by [[Ali-Akbar Davar]].<ref name="M"/>

==Career==
{{See also|Cabinet of Ali Amini}}
Amini was a founding member of the [[Democrat Party of Iran]], and entered the 15th term of parliament with the party's ticket.<ref name="M">{{cite book|author=Abbas Milani|entry=Ali Amini|title=Eminent Persians: The Men and Women who Made Modern Iran, 1941-1979|volume=1|date=2008|publisher=Syracuse University Press|location=Syracuse, N.Y.|isbn=978-0815609070|pages=63–71}}</ref> His first ministerial portfolio was in the cabinet of [[Ali Mansur]].<ref name="M"/>

He served as a minister in the [[Governments of Mohammad Mosaddegh|cabinet of Mohammad Mosaddegh]], but broke away from Mosaddegh in July 1952. He was later regarded as a "traitor" by [[National Front (Iran)|the National Front]], because of his collaboration with the post-[[1953 Iranian coup d'état]] government.<ref name=rubin80>{{cite book|author=Barry Rubin|title=Paved with Good Intentions|year=1980|publisher=Penguin Books|location=New York |page=106|url=http://www.gloria-center.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Paved-with-Good-Intentions-final.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021121704/http://www.gloria-center.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Paved-with-Good-Intentions-final.pdf|archive-date=21 October 2013}}</ref> He became minister of economic affairs in the cabinet of [[Fazlollah Zahedi]] and remained in office until 1955.<ref name=rubin80/> He was then appointed as the justice minister under [[Hossein Ala']] in 1955.<ref name="M"/><ref name=mjw15>{{cite thesis|author1=Michael J. Willcocks|title=Agent or Client: Who Instigated the White Revolution of the Shah and the People in Iran, 1963?|url=https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/agent-or-client-who-instigated-the-white-revolution-of-the-shah-and-the-people-in-iran-1963(f1bdd6c7-ed4c-42cc-bcaf-2a2f0cde5e60).html|pages=49–50 |location=University of Manchester|degree=PhD|date=2015}}</ref> He was named the ambassador to the US in 1956 which he held until 1958.<ref name="M"/><ref name=mjw15/>

His tendencies were pro-American to the extent that they made the Shah uncomfortable. [[Mohammad Reza Shah]] in particular distrusted Amini's popularity and friendship with then-senator [[John F. Kennedy]].<ref name=ehsanee/> Therefore, his tenure ended in 1958.<ref name=rubin80/>

In the 1950s, Amini was a candidate for the premiership. He was appointed prime minister in 1961. In July 1962, however, he was replaced by the Shah's close friend and a major [[Birjand]] landowner [[Asadollah Alam]]. In the late 1970s, Amini attempted a comeback into Iranian politics at the age of 70. He served as an advisor to the Shah during the final days of the [[Pahlavi dynasty]].

==Personal life==
Amini married Batoul Voosough (died 1992) in 1932 and they had a son, Iraj.<ref name=moin92>{{cite news|last=Moin|first=Baqer|title=Obituary: Ali Amini|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-ali-amini-1564084.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091216030809/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-ali-amini-1564084.html |archive-date=2009-12-16 |url-access=limited |url-status=live|access-date=2 August 2013|newspaper=The Independent|date=17 December 1992}}</ref> She was the daughter of [[Vosugh od-Dowleh|Hasan Vosugh od-Dowleh]] whose brother was [[Ahmad Qavam]].<ref name=jab/>

==Honours==
Amini was awarded Grand Croix of [[the Legion of Honor]] in 1962.<ref name=lat92>{{cite news|title=Ali Amini; Foe of Iran's Islamic Government|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-12-17-mn-2943-story.html|access-date=2 August 2013|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=17 December 1992}}</ref>

==Later years and death==
In 1979 and following the [[Iranian revolution|Iranian Revolution]], Amini moved to Paris, France. There he headed the [[Front for the Liberation of Iran]], a monarchist opposition group.<ref name=cs3july/> He complained about internal struggles among the exiled Iranian monarchists, saying "We're not even back in Tehran [and] they quarrel over the name of the country's future prime minister."<ref name=cs3july>{{cite news|title=Rivalry complicates Iranian exile struggle
|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1986/0703/oiran2.html/(page)/2|access-date=4 August 2013|newspaper=The Christian Science Monitor|date=3 July 1986}}</ref> He wrote his biography published by [[Harvard University]].

He died in Paris on 12 December 1992, aged 87.<ref name=moin92/> His body was buried in [[Passy Cemetery]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.fas.harvard.edu/%7eiohp/amini.html Transcript of Amini interview as part of Harvard Iranian Oral History Project directed by Habib Ladjevardi]
*{{Commons-inline}}

{{IranPMs|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amini, Ali}}
[[Category:20th-century Iranian politicians]]
[[Category:1905 births]]
[[Category:1992 deaths]]
[[Category:Politicians from Tehran]]
[[Category:Government ministers of Iran]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of Iran to the United States]]
[[Category:Prime ministers of Iran]]
[[Category:Exiles of the Iranian Revolution in France]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Legion of Honour]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany]]
[[Category:Burials at Passy Cemetery]]
[[Category:Paris-Sorbonne University alumni]]
[[Category:Democrat Party of Iran politicians]]
[[Category:Members of the 15th Iranian Majlis]]
[[Category:Iranian monarchists]]