Jafar Sharif-Emami | |
|---|---|
جعفر شریفامامی | |
 | |
| 33rd Prime Minister of Iran | |
| In office 27 August 1978 – 6 November 1978 | |
| Monarch | Mohammad Reza Pahlavi |
| Preceded by | Jamshid Amouzegar |
| Succeeded by | Gholam Reza Azhari |
| In office 31 August 1960 – 5 May 1961 | |
| Monarch | Mohammad Reza Pahlavi |
| Preceded by | Manouchehr Eghbal |
| Succeeded by | Ali Amini |
| President of the Senate | |
| In office 11 September 1964 – 24 March 1978 | |
| Monarch | Mohammad Reza Pahlavi |
| Preceded by | Mohsen Sadr |
| Succeeded by | Mohammad Sajadi |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 30 July 1960 – 1 December 1960 | |
| Prime Minister | Manouchehr Eghbal |
| Preceded by | Abbas Aram |
| Succeeded by | Ghods-Nakhai |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1912-06-17)17 June 1912 Tehran,Sublime State of Iran |
| Died | 16 June 1998(1998-06-16) (aged 85) New York City,New York,U.S. |
| Political party | Rastakhiz Party |
| Spouse | Eshrat Sharif Emami (died November 1997) |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | Tehran University |
Jafar Sharif-Imami (Persian:جعفر شریفامامی; 17 June 1912 – 16 June 1998) was anIranian politician who wasprime minister from 1960 to 1961 and again in 1978. He was a cabinet minister, president of theIranian Senate, president of thePahlavi Foundation and the president of the Iran chamber of industries and mines during the reign of ShahMohammad Reza Pahlavi.[1]
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Sharif-Emami was born inTehran on 17 June 1912 to a clerical family. His father was a mullah.[2][3] After high school, Sharif-Emami was sent (along with thirty other young men) toGermany where he studied for eighteen months, returning to Iran in 1930 to work with state railroad organization until theAnglo-Soviet invasion of Iran.[2] Years later he was sent toSweden for technical training, returning in 1939 when he received a degree in engineering.[1]
Sharif-Emami began his career at theIranian state railways in 1931.[4] Arrested in summer of 1943 for alleged ties to Germany he was kept in detention along with many other members of Iran's elite. After his release he was appointed director-general of the Irrigation Agency.[1] In 1950, he was appointed undersecretary of roads and communications.[4] Prime Minister and General Haj Ali Razmara appointed him acting minister and then minister of roads to hiscabinet inaugurated in June 1950, his first cabinet post.[1]
He served as the minister of industries and mines inManuchehr Eqbal's cabinet.[5] He was prime minister from 1960 to 1961, and again in 1978, a few months before the overthrow of the Shah.[4] He was appointed prime minister by Shah on 27 August 1978 because of his ties to clergy.[6] Sharif-Emami succeededJamshid Amouzegar in the post.[6][7] Sharif-Emami resigned from the office on 5 November 1978 and was replaced byGholam Reza Azhari in the post.[4][8]
During his short tenure, he undid many of the Shah's plans including the closing of casinos, abandoning the Imperial calendar, abolishing theRastakhiz Party and allowing all political parties to be active and personally responsible for preventing SAVAK to get involved and preventing the KGB backed clergyman from creating and continuing the 1979 revolution.[5] All of his efforts to reform the political system in Iran, was overshadowed by theBlack Friday massacre in Jaleh Square on 8 September 1978, mass protests, martial law and nationwide strikes, which brought the country's economy to its knees. He resigned from office amid riots on 5 November 1978.[9]
Sharif-Emami was also long-time president of theIranian Senate[10] and chairman of the Pahlavi Foundation.[11][12] He was one of the close confidants of the Shah.[10]
Sharif-Emami was married and had three children, two daughters and a son.[4]
For some years he was also theGrand Master of theFreemasonGrand Lodge of Iran, which gave him some informal influence among Iran's political elite.[1][2]
Sharif-Emami left Iran following theIslamic revolution in 1979. He settled in theUpper East Side ofManhattan,New York City.[4] There he served as the president of the Pahlavi Foundation and later resigned from the post.[4] He died at a hospital on 16 June 1998, one day shy of his 86th birthday, in New York City.[4] He was buried inValhalla, New York.[4]
Media related toJafar Sharif-Emami at Wikimedia Commons| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minister of Foreign Affairs 1960 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Iran 1960–1961 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of the Senate 1964–1978 | Succeeded by Mohammad Sajadi |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Iran 1978 | Succeeded by |
