Hushang Ansary | |
|---|---|
هوشنگ انصاری | |
 | |
| Minister of Finance | |
| In office 1 March 1974 – 23 December 1977 | |
| Prime Minister | Amir-Abbas Hoveida Jamshid Amouzegar |
| Preceded by | Jamshid Amouzegar |
| Succeeded by | Mohammad Yeganeh |
| Minister of Tourism and Information | |
| In office 29 December 1971 – 1 March 1974 | |
| Prime Minister | Amir-Abbas Hoveyda |
| Preceded by | Hassan Pakravan |
| Succeeded by | Mohammad Reza Ameli Tehrani |
| Ambassador of Iran to the United States | |
| In office 25 May 1967 – 1 October 1969 | |
| Prime Minister | Amir-Abbas Hoveida |
| Preceded by | Khosrow Khosrovani |
| Succeeded by | Amir Aslan Afshar |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1927-07-16)16 July 1927 Ahvaz, Persia |
| Died | 3 January 2026(2026-01-03) (aged 98) |
| Party | |
| Spouses |
|
| Relations | Cyrus A. Ansary (brother) |
| Children | 2, includingNina Ansary |
Hushang Ansary (Persian:هوشنگ انصاری, 16 July 1927 – 3 January 2026) was an Iranian-American diplomat, businessman and philanthropist. He served for eighteen years in the Iranian government prior to theIranian Revolution including asMinister of Economic Affairs and Finance and Iran's Ambassador to the United States from 1967 to 1969. He was chairman or director of companies both in Iran and in the United States.
Born in Ahvaz, inPersia'sKhuzestan Province, on 16 July 1927,[1] Ansary first worked as a newspaper and magazine photographer in Ahvaz, Tehran, and England before moving to Japan in 1954. There he metAbbas Aram, Iran's ambassador to Japan, who soon brought him to the attention ofShah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The Shah asked Ansary to return to Iran and appointed him to several government positions starting in 1961, includingundersecretary of commerce, ambassador to many African nations and to Pakistan, andminister of information.[2]
In 1964, he married Maryam Panahi, a friend of ambassador Abbas Aram who had many high-ranking acquaintances in the governments of the United States and Iran.[3] He served as ambassador to the United States until July 1969.[4] Then he was named as theminister of economic affairs and finance. His accomplishments during this time included assisting the Shah in lending millions of dollars in aid and grants to other countries and the signing of an agreement with U.S. State SecretaryHenry Kissinger to build eightnuclear power plants in Iran.[5]
By the 1970s, theCIA considered Ansary to be one of the seventeen members of "the Shah's Inner Circle" and he was one of the Shah's top two choices to succeedAmir Abbas Hoveyda asPrime Minister. Ultimately, this appointment went toJamshid Amouzegar, and Ansary became the leader of the Constructionist wing of theRastakhiz party, which opposed Amouzegar's Progressive wing. Some of Ansary's supporters have seen Amouzegar's appointment as a poor decision in hindsight. Even his now ex-wife Maryam Panahi, to whom his marriage "came to a bitter end" according to historianAbbas Milani,[6] said "not appointing Hushang was one of the shah's two biggest mistakes, leading to the revolution."[7] Ansary was appointed minister of economics and finance on 7 August 1977 when Jamshid Amouzegar formed acabinet.[8] In November 1977, Ansary also became the director of theNational Iranian Oil Company, but resigned one year later and moved to the United States, citing health problems.[9]
Ansary and his wife Shahla lived inHouston, Texas.[1] He was the brother ofCyrus A. Ansary.[10]
Hushang Ansary died from cardiac arrest on 3 January 2026, at the age of 98.[1][11][a]
During his time in the Iranian government, Ansary also maintained a successful career in business. He was the director of an unstable company called Fakhre Iran, which he made profitable and sold to the government.[12] Ansary arrived in the U.S. a very wealthy man[13] and became a U.S. citizen in 1986.[14] After settling in the United States, Ansary started the Parman Group, aholding company for leisure industries, textiles, international trade, and real estate, which included IRI International – a company that makes oilfield equipment. IRI International was sold toNational Oilwell Varco in 2005.[15] Ansary was the chairman ofStewart & Stevenson LLC[16] until the company was purchased by Kirby Corp in September 2018.[17]
Ansary was a devotedRepublican,[18] a friend and business partner ofHenry Kissinger,Alexander Haig, andJames Baker, served on the National Finance Committee of theBush-Cheney 2004 Presidential Campaign and was a trustee of theGeorge W. Bush Presidential Library.[19] In 2015, Ansary and his wife donated $2 million to a Super PAC supporting the presidential candidacy ofJeb Bush.[20] He donated $2 million to Donald Trump's inauguration.[21]
He was involved in the creation of several medical and educational institutions, such as theUniversity of St. Martin and theJames Baker Institute.[14] In February 2014, Ansary supported theA Thousand Years of the Persian Book Exhibition at the Library of Congress.[22]
CYRUS ANSARY.