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Home | Office Holder | Mostowfi ol-Mamalek
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He came from an important and well-known family of highranking bureaucrats during the Qajar era. His father was, Mirza Yousof Mostowfi al-Mamalek, a bureaucrat of the Qajar court and a Prime Minister, and his grandfather was Mirza Hasan Mostofi al-Mamalek the 1st and was given the title of Mostofi al Mamalek under Mohammad Shah Qajar. Upon his fathers death, Nasereddin Shah granted the title Mostowfi ol-Mamalek ("chief financier of the country") to the very young, but precocious, Hasan. When the nobility started to ridicule Hasan for being given such an important job/title at such young age, Nasereddin Shah, convinced of the young boy's talents, added the title "Aaqaa" (Sir) to Hasan's titles, thereby obliging the nobility to call him "Sir" every time they addressed him. He was since frequently referred to simply as "Aaqaa" in political circles. At the age of 18, he married Khanom Esmat el Molouk, Nasr-ol-Din Shah’s granddaughter, and henceforth he officially became a member of the royal family. When 26, he was sent to Paris for his higher education, and soon climbed his way up the political ladder in Iran. During the Persian Constitutional Revolution era, Mostowfi was appointed Minister 15 times, and Prime Minister 6 times. One of his most formidable opponents in politics at the time was Hassan Modarres who made numerous efforts to pull down Mostowfi's cabinet. Mostowfi's cabinet finally collapsed under pressure from political opponents despite the full backing of Ahmad Shah Qajar. During the run-up to the elections, Modarres and his followers in the Parliament were actively campaigning against Mostowfi's cabinet. They tabled a formal question to the government, which was customarily followed by a vote of confidence. The ministers answered the questions convincingly. Mostowfi, who was not used to this kind of street politics, was said to be angry and disappointed. He delivered his most famous speech to Parliament, blaming members of Parliament for “giving and taking ajil [dried nuts]”, which in Persian means giving and taking bribes. He is believed to have said “I have problems with my digestive system, and I do not take or give any ajil”. He was the first Prime Minister to call Parliamentarians corrupt instead of cajoling and flattering them. He and his ministers left the Parliament, went straight to the Shah and resigned. Despite his opposition to Mostowfi, Modarres was part of the party that encouraged Mostowfi to take his sixth term as Prime Minister. Reza Shah had been elected Shah and crowned. In order to legitimize his rule he needed a Prime Minister who had the confidence of the politicians and the general public, so he chose Mostowfi. Modarres believed that Mostowfi was one of the few people who might curb the excesses of the new Shah and his generals. This was to be Mostowfi's last post. At the end of May 1927, Mostowfi resigned from office and from political life. Mirza Hassan Mostowfi al Mamalek died of a heart attack on the 28th August 1932. He was buried in the family mausoleum in [{Vanak}] village. The funeral procession was marked by the fact that the Armenian residents of Vanak carried the coffin for a mile to the Mausoleum, followed by a procession of 80 or more cars. The mausoleum is currently on the grounds of a university named Alzahra University . His descendants now bear the surname "Mostofi ol-Mamaleki", "Mostowfi", " Tahriri", "Dabiri". |
