'File 11/44 Leading Personalities in Iraq, Iran & Saudi Arabia' [‎16r] (31/96)

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in charge at Washington. Secretary in London
March 1937. Consul, Izmir, 1939. Counsellor in
London early 1943.
Speaks English and French. A quiet and level
headed official.
125. Radmanish, Dr. Riza
Bom about 1900. In 1938 he was arrested by
Riza Shah for making Communist propaganda.
Elected Deputy for Lahijan in the 14th Majlis.
Has been a prominent member of the Tudeh party
and the Tudeh Majlis group since its foundation
and was a dominating member of the Tudeh party
General Party Conference in 1944. Edits Left-wing
paper Mardum. One of six editors invited by the
Ministry of Information to visit the United
Kingdom in the autumn of 1945, but did not accept.
A genuine Communist who is not best pleased with
the complete subservience of the Tudeh party to
the Russians but unable to help himself. Rather
naive.
126. Rahnama, Zain-ul-Abadin
Born about 1888, one of the sons of the late
Sheikh-ul-Iraqain, a Persian subject and small
mujtehid of Kerbela.
Rahnema was educated in Iraq and came to
^^\.sia about 1910. He was a member of the
^^..Tnocratic party and edited first the newspaper
Rahnema and subsequently the semi-official paper
Iran. He was elected a Deputy to the fifth and
sixth terms of the Majlis. Was sent to Europe
in 1923 on a mission to “ boom ” Persia, and stayed
most of the time in Paris. Was appointed Under
secretary to the Ministry of Public Works at the
end of 1926 and Under-Secretary to the Minister
of the Interior in April 1927. In June 1927 he
fell from favour and confined himself to journalism,
and accompanied the Shah on his journey to
Khuzistan in October 1928 as press representative.
Rahnema is an ambitious man, with plenty of
“ push.” His great ambition has always been to
obtain a Government post, which he hoped would
culminate in a ministerial appointment. With that
object in view, he discarded his turban and gave
up his title of ” sheikh.” This brought him three
different under-secretaryships in succession. He
is intelligent and clever in a certain sense.
^S^Vent to Europe in 1933 to purchase printing
^fcmaehinery. In the summer of 1935 was exiled
^to Iraq and took up his residence in Beirut; the
Shah was said to have suspected him of plotting
against the regime.
Returned to Persia after the fall of Reza Shah
in 1941, and resumed his editorship of the news
paper Iran. On a mission to the ulema of Iraq
in 1942, and brought back certain messages
addressed to the young Shah. Plunged into
political intrigue in 1942 and after being
disappointed at not being accepted by the Iraq
Government as Minister, became a sort of secretary
and spy in. Soheily’s administration in 1943, but
soon resigned. Minister in Paris 1944. In February
1945 made , a nuisance of himself to the military
authorities in the British Zone of occupied Germany,
by consistently ignoring all arrangements made for
him when he was granted permission to enter the
zone to examine the credentials of a number of
« persons claiming to be Persian, and by misusing
the recommendation given to him by the British
Military Mission in Paris to receive accommodation
for himself and his unnecessarily large suite and
to commandeer the German broadcasting network
to summon all Persian subjects to report to him.
The Mission in Paris decided that no further help
was to be given to him. Appointed Minister in
Beirut February 1947.
Sppaks French and English.
127. Rais, Muhsin
Born in Tehran about 1895. Educated in Persia
and France. The eldest son of the late Zahir-ul-
Mulk. Entered the service of the Ministry for
Foreign Affairs in 1919. Sent to Switzerland as
secretary of the Persian delegation to the League
of Nations. Returned to Persia in 1924, and served
in the Ministry till he was sent to Paris as
counsellor in 1930. Head of the Treaty Section
of the Ministry in 1933. Minister at Berlin and
The Hague 1935. Political Director-General in
the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, September 193/.
Minister at Bucharest for Roumania, Greece,
Bulgaria and Yugoslavia, December 1938.
Transferred to Vichy in 1941, and returned in
July 1942 to Tehran. Minister in Bagdad July
1943. Ambassador to London June 1947.
A very agreeable man, not afraid of hard work.
Speaks good French. Married one of the many
daughters of Farman Farma in 1935.
128. Razmara, Haji All, Major-General
(Sarlashgar)
Trained in France, at Saint-Cyr. Born about 1900.
Related to the Kemal-Hedayat family. Joined the
army and commanded a regiment in 1931. Military
Governor of the Khamseh tribes 1931. Commanded
operations against the Kurdish insurrection of Jaafar
Sultan 1932. General Officer Commanding First
Tehran Division October 1941. Chief of the
General Staff July 1943: relieved by Riazi Septem
ber 1943. Director of the Shah’s Military Secretar
iat October 1943.
He was dismissed from the post of Chief of
General Staff at the end of 1944. Re-attached to
General Staff in March 1946. In July 1946 he was
reappointed Chief of the General Staff, even though
the Shah two months previously had expressed
extreme distrust of him. Since that date he has
successfully ingratiated himself with the Royal
master.
An able, energetic but corrupt officer with a
reputation as a disciplinarian : in fact he is said to
have killed a fnan on parade for insubordination.
Very ambitious and a great intriguer, and trims his
sails to any wind. An unprincipled adventurer.
Speaks some English.
129. Sadiq, Dr. Issa (Sadiq-i-A lam)
Born about 1892. Educated partly in England
(where he was for a time munshi A term used in the Middle East, Persia and South Asia to refer to a secretary, assistant or amanuensis. Munshis were employed in the British administration in the Gulf. to Professor
Browne) and partly in America, where he took a
doctor’s degree. Began his career in a very lowly
station in the Ministry of Education. Rose to be
Director of Education in Gilan. Attended an inter
national congress on education in England about
1929, where he lectured on modern educational
methods in Persia. Principal of the Teachers’
College (Ecole normale) 1932.
Minister of Public Instruction in Feroughi’s
Cabinet September 1941. On the resignation of that
Cabinet in 1942 became dean of the University of
Tehran. Again Minister of Education in Suhaili’s
reshuffled Cabinet of December 1943. Minister of
Education in Bayat’s Government of November
1944. As chairman of Tehran Telephone Company
went to the United Kingdom to buy equipment for
the Company in 1947.
An intelligent and go-ahead man speaking English
and French. Well disposed towards Anglo-Saxon
methods of education. The author of several works
on education.
130. Sadiqi, Abid Hasan
Born about 1900, son of a wealthy landowner who
was many years a Deputy for Tabriz. Abul Hasan
has long service in the National Bank, mostly in
Tehran Deputy for Tabriz in the fourteenth Majlis.