Taher Ahmadzadeh | |
---|---|
Governor of Khorasan Province | |
In office February 1979 – September 1980 | |
Prime Minister | Mehdi Bazargan |
Preceded by | Sadegh Amir-Azizi |
Succeeded by | Hassan Ghafourifard |
Personal details | |
Born | 22 May 1921[1] Mashhad, Iran[1] |
Died | 30 November 2017 Mashhad, Iran | (aged 96)
Political party | Council of Nationalist-Religious Activists of Iran (2000–2017)[2] Freedom Movement of Iran (1961–1980s) National Front (1950s–1961) |
Nickname | Agha Taher (among friends)[3] |
Taher Ahmadzadeh Heravi (Persian: طاهر احمدزاده هروی; 22 May 1921[4] – 30 November 2017) was an Iranian nationalist-religious political activist who held office as the first governor of Khorasan Province after the Iranian Revolution.[1]
Ahmadzadeh was of Afghan descent.[5] His father was a wealthy Shia from the city of Herat, Afghanistan who migrated to Iran.[3] Ahmadzadeh studied secondary education and was considered a small landowner in his birthplace Mashhad.[1]
Ahmadzadeh was an active opposition to Pahlavi dynasty since the early 1950s and hailed as the "symbol of heroic resistance against SAVAK", spending 10 years in prison under the regime.[6] Considered a well-known nationalist and a prominent leader in Mashhad,[7] he co-founded a Mossadeghist and religious organization called the 'Center for the Publication of Islamic Truths' along with Mohammad-Taqi Shariati, father of Ali Shariati.[8] He joined National Front's 'National Resistance Movement' in Khorasan after the 1953 coup d'état and served as a member of central committee of its provincial branch, though not affiliated with any particular political party.[9] Working closely with Mehdi Bazargan for almost four decades, he also helped him found the Freedom Movement of Iran.[6]
After Iranian Revolution in 1979, Bazargan nominated him as the governor of Khorasan Province. Ahmadzadeh initially rejected the appointment, on the grounds that Ruhollah Khomeini has installed Abbas Vaez-Tabasi as the costudian of Astan Quds Razavi and he should maintain the former position as well. He was ousted soon after resignation of Bazargan.[5] According to Ervand Abrahamian, he was tagged "liberal"[6] and a "sympathizer of the Mojahedin"[10] at the time.
In June 1981, he started to openly criticizing the clergy for "monopolizing power".[6] Sobsequently, Ahmadzadeh was imprisoned in Evin Prison and in 1983 he was forced to confess in a televised program called "roundtable discussions". He was released four years later.[6] Ahmadzadeh was detained again in 2000, when he was 80.[11]
His sons Masoud and Majid, as well as his daughter Mastureh were among leading members of the Organization of Iranian People's Fedai Guerrillas. His youngest son, Mojtaba, was a sympathizer of the People's Mujahedin of Iran and was executed during 1988 executions of Iranian political prisoners.[12]