Manouchehr Eghbal

Manouchehr Eghbal
65th Prime Minister of Iran
In office 3 April 1957 – 31 August 1960
Monarch	Muhammad Reza Shah Pahlavi
Preceded by	Hossein Ala'
Succeeded by	Jafar Sharif-Emami
Personal details
Born	14 February 1909 Mashhad, Iran
Died	25 November 1977 (aged 68) Tehran, Iran
Political party	Nationalist Party
Alma mater	Tehran University
Religion	Islam

Manuchehr Eqbal (14 February 1909 – 25 November 1977) (in Persian: منوچهر اقبال) was one of the prime ministers of Iran.

Education

Eghbal studied at Darolfonoon, and finished advanced studies in medicine in Paris in 1933.

Career

Eghbal's Cabinet

In 1950, Eghbal was appointed chancellor of Tabriz University, followed by Tehran University in 1954. Five years later he became Iran's envoy to UNESCO. He then taught at Sorbonne for a while and became a member of the French Académie Nationale de Médecine.

He served as the minister of health in Ahmad Ghavam's cabinet, minister of culture in Abdolhosein Hazhir's cabinet, minister of transportation in RajabAli Mansur's cabinet, and interior minister in Mohammad Sa'ed's cabinet. He also served as the governor of East Azarbaijan province.^[1]

In April 1957, he became prime minister, replacing Hussein Ala.^[1][2] Eghbal continued as prime minister until fall 1960 and was replaced by Sharif Emami.^[3] Until his death, he served as a top executive in Iran's National Oil Company. He was also one of the close aides to the Shah.^[4]

Personal life

Eghbal married a French woman and had three daughters. The eldest Nicole became a nun. The second, Monique, married a Swiss surgeon and had a daughter, Muriel. The youngest daughter, Maryam Francoise, first married Prince Mahmoud Reza Pahlavi in October 1964 when she was 18 years old,^[5] but the marriage ended in divorce and she married Prince Shahriar Shafiq.

Death

Eghbal died of a heart attack on 25 November 1977 in Tehran, aged 68.

References

The following reference was used for the above writing: 'Alí Rizā Awsatí (عليرضا اوسطى), Iran in the Past Three Centuries (Irān dar Se Qarn-e Goz̲ashteh - ايران در سه قرن گذشته), Volumes 1 and 2 (Paktāb Publishing - انتشارات پاکتاب, Tehran, Iran, 2003). ISBN 964-93406-6-1 (Vol. 1), ISBN 964-93406-5-3 (Vol. 2).

1. "Iran premier will quit". Schenectady Gazette. 2 April 1957. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
2. "Iran minister resigns post". Gettysburg Times (Tehran). 3 April 1957. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
3. "Iran teachers' protest Iranian premier from office". The Press Courier. 5 May 1961. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
4. "Centers of Power in Iran" (PDF). CIA. May 1972. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
5. "People Make News". The Calgary Herald. 22 October 1964. Retrieved 9 November 2012.