Mohammad Javad Tondguyan

Mohammad Javad Tondguyan

Mugshot of POW Mohammad Javad Tondguyan, Iran Minister of Oil. One day after being captured by Iraq.
Minister of Petroleum
In office
2 September 1980  3 November 1980
Prime Minister Mohammad Ali Rajai
Preceded by Ali Akbar Moinfar
Succeeded by Mohammad Gharazi
CEO of National Iranian Oil Company
In office
11 April 1979  2 September 1980
Preceded by Hassan Nazih
Succeeded by Ali Mortazavi
Personal details
Born (1938-03-22)22 March 1938
Tehran, Iran
Died ?[Note 1]
Iraq
Nationality Iranian
Political party Independent
Spouse(s) Batoul Borhan Ashkevari
Children 4
Alma mater Petroleum University of Technology (B.Sc.)
Iran Center for Management Studies (M.Sc.)
Religion Islam

Mohammad Javad Bagher Tondguyan (Persian: محمدجواد تندگویان; 22 March 1938 – ?) was an Iranian engineer and petroleum minister under Prime Minister Mohammad-Ali Rajai from 2 September to 3 November 1980 when he was captured by the Iraqi forces in November 1980 during Iran-Iraq war.

Early life and education

Tondguyan was born on 22 March 1938.[1]

He was involved in opposition movement against Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in 1967 and was detained and interrogated by the SAVAK.[1] During this period he met Mohammad Khatami.[1]

Career

Tondguyan worked for various oil companies in Iran until the 1979 revolution. After the revolution, he was appointed deputy science minister.[1] In September 1980, he became oil minister in the cabinet of Mohammad Ali Rajai, replacing Ali Akbar Moinfar in the post.[1]

Captivity and death

Tondguyan was captured by the Iraqi forces on his tour to the fronts on the Abadan road in Khuzestan Province on 3 November 1980 at the initial phase of the Iran-Iraq war which lasted from 1980 to 1988.[2][3][4] His deputy and a ministry official were also captured with him.[5] They were reportedly taken to Baghdad.[6]

In October 1990, the Iraqi officials stated that he committed suicide two years after his captivity.[3] In November 1990, his wife and father denied this report.[2] Tondguyan's body was delivered by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to the Iran government in 1991.[4] ICRC reported that he was died of torture after eleven years of detention in Iraqi prisons.[4]

Personal life

Tondguyan was married and had four children.[2]

Notes

  1. Date and place unclear, not any official death date and place announced by Iraqi government

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Joint Crisis: Supreme Defense Council of Iran, 1980" (PDF). Harvard Model United Nations. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 "Former Oil Minister's Family Appeals for His Release" (PDF). Kayhan. 5 November 1991. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  3. 1 2 "Iraq Claims Captive Iranian Ex-Oil Minister Committed Suicide". Associated Press (Nicosia). 23 October 1990. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 "Former minister family seeks compensation from Iraqi national authority". Asia Africa Intelligence Wire (Tehran). BBC. 25 December 2003. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  5. Shipp, Randy (6 November 1980). "Red Cross asks for report on Iran official's capture". The Christian Science Monitor (Geneva). Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  6. Balderstone, David (4 November 1980). "Free minister, says Iran". The Age (Tehran). Retrieved 16 February 2013.
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