Mozaffar Baqaei

 

Akbar Mashuf

 

One of the most controversial figures of Iran’s contemporary history of politics, Mozaffar Baqaei was born in Kerman, 1912. His father was Mirza Shahab Ravi Kermani, a political activist of constitutional period and a deputy of the fourth term of Majlis from Kerman. He entered Nosrat Melli School and studied there until the third grade. He followed his education in Tehrn in Sirus, Adab and Darolfonun Schools and then studied at Saint Luis School. He left for France with Eissa Sepahbodi, Khosrow Varasteh, AliAsghar Sorush, GholamHossein Sedighi, and entered the high school of Limoges. He studied philosophy at Sorbonne. However he did not succeed to get degree due to the breach of relationship between Iran and France. Then he returned to Iran and became a lecturer at the University of Letters and humanities of the University of Tehran.

 

He married Vakil-oddowleh Ebrahimi’s daughter in 1940. But it did not last more than eight years. He had a son from this marriage who died when he was only eleven months. Baqai did not marry again.

 

He entered the political scene of post Sept.1941, and began his activities in the ettehad e melli (national unity). After a while he entered the Iran Democratic Party led by Qavam ol Saltaneh and became the secretary of the party and a member of its secret board of purge. He entered the Majlis from Kerman as a candidate of the party in the same year. He was a friend of Ali Zohari and Eissa Sepahbodi, the officials of the embassy of France and also Hassan Pakravan and his French mother. Backed by their helps and political support of Sardar Fakher Hekmat he published the Shahed daily newspaper.

 

He was a member of majority of the Majlis but after a while he joined the minority, and joined those members who favoured the interrogation of Saed’s interpellation. He opposed the oil contract of Guss Golshian. In protest against the fraud in the elections, he joined Dr. Mossaddeq in a sit-in in the court. To avoid any fraud in the elections he founded theLliberty Watch Organization.

 

He founded the Labor Party in cooperation with Khalil Maleki and other members of splinter group of Tudeh Party, which joined the National Front. He accompanied Dr. Mossaddeq in his visit to La Hague.

 

He began to oppose Dr. Mossaddeq in mid 1952 and tried to show sympathy to Ayatollah Kashani. However he was always detested by the religious groups especially the Fadaian e Islam.

He was under charges of killing Afshartus. He played an important role in 19 August 1953 and supported the Shah publicly. His group members attacked Mossaddeq. And the post coup press introduced him as one of the leaders of the national rising against Dr. Mossaddeq’s administration.

 

He lowered the amount of his political activities and when unsuccessful to become a prime minister, he was arrested and was exiled for one year to Zahedan.

 

At the outset of Islamic revolution, he tried to issue proclamations and enter the political scene. However he was ignored by people. He was arrested in July 1980 and had to spend a period in prison. Invited by Mansur Rafizadeh( the last head of the SAVAK in the United States) he went to the United States. On his return in April 1987, he was detained on the charge of having relationship with foreign intelligence organizations. Eventually he died on Nov. 17^th 1987 in Mehr hospital of Tehran.