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'File 11/44 Leading Personalities in Iraq, Iran & Saudi Arabia' [‎4v] (8/96)

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The record is made up of 1 file (46 folios). It was created in 27 Jun 1947-19 Jul 1948. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

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4
for a head of Government, he has shown himself
a man of action and determination in times of crisis,
and has been very friendly to us since Reza Shah’s
departure. Minister of War in Qavam’s Cabinet,
February 1946.
Speaks Russian. His accumulated wealth and
large properties appear to have satisfied his desires,
so that he seems to have got over his youthful
inclination towards robbery.
6. Amir Alai, Shams-ud-Din
Born about 1896. Senior official in the Ministry
of Agriculture until his appointment as Acting
Minister under Qavam-us-Saltanah, February 1946.
Appointed Minister under Qavam-us-Saltanah in
August and again in October 1946. Quiet, ineffective
little man with no great administrative capabilities,
but will always do what he is told.
7. Amiri Javad
Born in Tehran 1895, from a Semnan family.
Educated in Persia and France. Speaks French,
and has studied law in Paris. Entered the service
of the Ministry of Justice in 1914, and was for
many years assistant to the French judicial adviser
attached to the Ministry of Justice. Was a professor
in the law school. In 1928 appointed president of
the Tribunal of Commerce. President of the court
of first instance in Tehran 1931-84. Director of
the Department of Legislation in the Ministry of
Justice in 1934. Went to Bagdad with Fathullah
Noury Esfandiary in December 1935 as legal and
technical adviser in the abortive negotiations about
the frontier, &c., with Iraq. Juridical Counsellor
in charge of the Advisory Department of the
Ministry for Foreign Affairs, 1938. Administrative
Director-General, August 1938, and Under-Secretary,
January 1939, in that Ministry.
In charge of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs at
the time of the invasion 1941. Minister of the
Interior in Soheily’s Cabinet 1942, and later Minister
of Justice; in the former post he was a disappoint
ment, in the latter he was more at home but was
soon replaced. Elected to the 14th Majlis from
Semnan, December 1943.
Accompanied Qavam-us-Saltaneh on his mission
to Moscow in February 1946.
A man of considerable influence and importance
in his capacity as technical adviser on legislation.
Having been trained by the French legal advisers
here, his ideas of law are somewhat different from
those held by British lawyers.
Conscientious and hard-working, with a lawyer’s
capacity for rapid assimilation of detail. Amiable
but weak.
8. Amir-l aimur Kalali, Muhammad
Ibrahim.
Born about 1895. Member of a well-known
Khorassan tribe. Educated in Tehran. Elected to
the Majlis in the time of Reza Shah, and again
for Mashhad in the 14th Majlis elections, 1943
where he headed the poll. Vice-President of the
Majlis 1944.
A rich landowner who smokes opium. Was on
Foundation Committee of Irano-Soviet Cultural
Relations Society, March 1944.
In 1945 he showed an inclination to turn to the
Embassy for support against Russian pressure.
Arrested August 1946 under Military Law
Ordinance. Released after a short detention.
Elected Deputy for Meshed in 15th Majlis.
A talkative demagogue, fond of working himself
into passionate indignation about subjects which
he does not understand. For instance, he opposed
the Tripartite Treaty and caused the Feroughi
Cabinet a great deal of trouble. But he is amenable
to argument, and, though pig-headed and vain, is
not entirely without good ideas.
9. Ansari, Abdul Hussein Mas'ud
The eldest son of the late Ali Quli Ansari
Mushavir-ul-Mamlik. Born 1899. Educated at
Tehran and in Europe. Joined the Ministry for
Foreign Affairs in 1920. Served for a number of
years in the Persian Embassy at Moscow as secre
tary, and his rapid promotion is largely due to
his father’s influence. Counsellor at Moscow in
1927, and held that post till he was transferred
to Tehran in 1931. Head of the Economics Section
of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in September
1933. Went to Germany as a member of the
Persian Economic Mission to Germany in July 1935.
Head of the Third Political Section (dealing with
British affairs) 1936. Head of the Protocol Depart
ment, November 1937. Consul-General, Delhi, May
1938. Minister to Sweden 1941. Returned to
Tehran in 1944 and was appointed Head of the
Tripartite Pact Department in the Ministry for
Foreign Affairs. Vice-President of Russo-Persian
Cultural Relations Society, March 1945. Appointed
Governor-General of Gilan, November 1945.
Married a Russian in Moscow; the lady was
suspected of being a spy; she died in Berlin in 1936
leaving one child, a boy. Married an Iranian in
1937.
Civil and fairly energetic. Showed pointed dis
courtesy to His Majesty’s Consul at Resht when tin
consulate was re-opened late in 1946. SpeJ^I
Russian, French and German; his outlook is almost
as much Russian as Persian, and many of his
colleagues distrust him accordingly.
10. Ansari, Ghulam Ali, Brigadier
(Sartip).
Born about 1890, of a military family in Isfahan.
Educated in France—was private in French army
and later trained at Fontainebleu Artillery School.
Soon earned a reputation for honesty and energy
in the army. Military attach^ at Washington
1917-18. Then studied at Ecole de Guerre in
France and passed with distinction. Removed from
army in 1937 by Riza Shah, rejoined in 1941.
Director of Artillery, November 1941. Comman
dant of the Officers’ School, June 1942. Assistant
to General Greely, United States army, when
adviser to the Ministry of War, August 1942.
Under-Secretary of War September 1943-April 1944
Head of Baluchistan Inspection Commissic^l
November 1944. Deputy Chief of General Staff^
January 1945; dismissed when Qavam came into
power, February 1946. Inspector in the Ministry
of War, April 1946. Was a close associate of
General Arfa before Arfa was arrested in April 1946,
since when he has been the target for much abuse
in the Russian-controlled section of the press. A
patriot with anti-Russian sentiments. Honest, hard
working and serious. Unpopular in army because of
a rough tongue, a strong temper and an uncom
promising mind.
Married to a daughter of Abdul Husain Shaibani
(Wahid-ul-Mulk).
11. Aqevli (Aghevli), Farajidlah, Major-
General (Sa7'lashgar)
Born in Isfahan 1888, the son of the late
Dr. Amanullah Khan, a well-known physician.
Educated in Tehran; speaks French and some
English. Entered the service of the gendarmerie
in 1911. His brother, Colonel Fazlullah Khan,
committed suicide when a member of the Anglo-
Persian Military Commission, which sat in 1919-20.
Appointed general in 1922, and Chief of Staff to
the Western Army in Hamadan.* Military Governor
of Gilan for a time in 1925. Governor-General of
Khuzistan 1928 to 1930, during which time he
showed administrative ability in establishing the
authority of the new regime.

About this item

Content

This file contains copies of the following Foreign Office documents:

  • 'Leading Personalities in Persia, 1947' (folios 3-20)
  • 'Leading Personalities in Iraq, 1947' (folios 21-36)
  • 'Leading Personalities in Saudi Arabia, 1948' (folios 37-47).
Extent and format
1 file (46 folios)
Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 48; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio.

Written in
English in Latin script
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'File 11/44 Leading Personalities in Iraq, Iran & Saudi Arabia' [‎4v] (8/96), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/6/392, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100061134244.0x000009> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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